


Art of the Kill

by royallycorrect



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Blood, F/F, Murder, Violence, assassinsAU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-06 08:40:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20504084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royallycorrect/pseuds/royallycorrect
Summary: Tzuyu, Dahyun and Chaeyoung are just some nerds. At least that's what the people at the university, professors and students alike, see them as. But in secret they were trained assassins. And in the art of killing, they speak only one language: money.Disclaimer: The contents of this fan fiction are purely just that, fiction, and not meant to reflect the lives of the namesakes nor portray events in reality.





	1. Prologue - Auld Lang Syne

_ **[??? POV]** _

_ **10...** _

_I have become many people in life. An obedient son, a student, a desk-worker, a husband, and a father._

_ **9...** _

_One day, I will be none of these things. But there's always a part of me that I will never shake off._

_ **8...** _

_My one history that I'll never forget. That will haunt me for the rest of my life._

_ **7...** _

_An assassin. Trained and paid to do one thing. Kill your target, by any means necessary._

_ **6...** _

_This is the last contract I'll ever take. And I'm leaving. Gah! Who am I kidding, once I've dipped my feet into the bloody lake, it will stick with me for life._

_ **5...** _

_"Mom! Dad! Will there be fireworks?" the kid asked_

_ **4...** _

_"Of course honey! And you'll be jumping too so you could be as tall as your Dad one day" her mother answered_

_ **3...** _

_"I'm so excited!" the little girl was practically bouncing on the spot._

_ **2...** _

_Yet HE was utterly silent, smiling at his daughter, but silent. Does he know? I wonder to myself. I suppose it doesn't matter now that I have my sights aligned to his heart._

_ **1!** _

_ **HAPPY NEW YEAR!** _

_Fireworks from around the area consecutively went off. The loud explosions masking the sound of my rifle as it fired a bullet heading straight to my target's heart. And the pretty display and colors contrasting the death I just caused down below._

_MY TARGET. It's a disrespectful thing to call someone who was my brother in all but blood. My partner, an assassin just like I was. When we were completing contracts together, I never would have thought it would be one of us at the end of the others' gun in the end._

_"Target is down." I typed on the cellphone in my hand._

_"The money has been dropped to your account, and as promised, you no longer work for us." the reply text read._

_"Good. now leave me and my family alone. Forever." I replied back before breaking the phone and throwing it into the depths of the river._

_When I got home, the house was silent, I quickly entered, worried for the worst._

_"BANG! I GOTCHU DADDY! HAHAHAHA" came a sound that I was all too relieved to hear._

_"Aaaaah!" I fake fainted and played along to my daughter's "surprise attack"_

_"You got him, sweetie." came another voice that I've fallen for over and over through the years. What followed was a melodic laugh that I was all too happy to follow along._

_"Daddy! You missed the fireworks!" my daughter exclaimed._

_"Yes, I'm sorry sweetie. Office work is a busy one today in particular" I apologized._

_"Boss demanded overtime again?" my wife asked smiling in understanding and I could only nod and look at them both._

_"NOOOOOOOO!" the scream of HIS wife as he fell flashed in my head._

_"Dad? Are you okay? Dad? Wake up, we have fireworks to see" the daughter's voice came as an echo._

_"Daddy! Daddy are you okay" I was pulled back to reality by my daughter's voice. My wife looked on in concern._

_"I'm fine, sweetie. Daddy is just tired." I replied_

_"Then let's have our New Year's dinner and then we could all go rest for the night" my wife suggested._

_"Yes. Let's do that." I answered_

_"Yayyy! I want spring rolls!" my daughter exclaimed rushing into the dining room as my wife followed her, laughing._

_She mustn't know. THEY should never know. All the things I've done, the blood I spilled, it would kill me if they knew. Especially my child. I looked into the night sky one last time._

_"I'm sorry old friend" my voice whispered to the cold air. "I can't bear to lose them."_


	2. Contract 1 - Dressed to Kill

_Many years later..._

"Chaeyoung are you listening to me?" the nagging voice spoke to my earpiece.

"Yes yes I hear you loud in clear, Tzuyu-ah, no need to raise your voice." I snarked while focusing on the road

"Wow. Miss grumpy over here." she replied

"I just- I don't understand why it has to be me who goes to this damn party." I pouted

"Did you pout? Cause I could almost see it, chingu." the reply came. "Like we've said before, you are the best option out of us three. Dahyun would draw attention to herself whenever she does something weird, not to mention she literally glows in the dark." Tzuyu chuckled.

"HEY!" Another voice was heard. _Oh boy here we go with these two again_ I could only sigh. "I'm not that bad. I'm just better at daytime missions. Plus at least I don't automatically make heads turn whenever I enter a room like Yoda does over here." said Dahyun.

"Exactly. That's why you, chingu, are the best option for this mission. You know how to adapt, and you like to avoid attention as much as possible. Might I boldly say, you're the perfect person for it." Tzuyu explained.

"You didn't even deny it." Dahyun replied in amazement.

"Deny what?"

"That you're a head turner."

"Can't deny it if it's true." I could almost hear Tzuyu's smug smile forming as she said that.

"Okay okay. Point taken you two." I broke in before they start their verbal gymnastics again.

"Alright, Chae, let's pour over the mission one last time." Dahyun spoke on the line

"I already know-"

"Shush! Unnie is talking!" _SHE DID NOT just pull the unnie card on me. This tofu I swear._

"Did you just pull the unnie card on Chaeyoung?" _Exactly Tzuyu! Thank you!_

"Will you stop interrupting me?"

"K" Tzuyu and I both answered. _Mental high five_

"Now your target is Lui Chan. He's a notorious party-goer, he never misses any college party ever. Whether it's from our own university or from other ones, he is there. And now he is confirmed to be attending the Parks' party tonight. The contract states that a mafia clan, not specified who, wants to hit the Chans' business, and they want to hit the family where it hurts, the heir." Dahyun explained.

"You are to eliminate him by any means necessary, except just straight up shooting him." Tzuyu followed. "The contractors want a clean job. One that requires the most minimal of cleaning and cover up work. Don't worry chingu, we'll be guiding you throughout."

I slowed my car down as I entered Park Estate. This place is huge, a testament to the Parks' generations of wealth.

"Jesus would you look at the size of that mansion." Dahyun's awe bled through the earpiece if that was even possible.

"No kidding. But who knows, maybe we'll get something bigger. Our job pays really well." Tzuyu butted in.

"I think we still have a long way before that happens." Dahyun answered. _A long way and a long river of blood._ I thought.

"The southwest area of the parking lot is the one that can't be seen by CCTVs, Chaeng, loop around the mansion." Tzuyu instructed.

"What kind of mansion doesn't put camera in a specific area?" I wondered aloud

"The kind with secret dealings, little cub." Dahyun replied. "Hey. Isn't that Jackson's car to your right?"

_Ah yes, Jackson. The bully who never leaves me alone_. _What was it he likes to call me? 'Dweeb'? 'Dwarf'? 'Twerp'? I swear all bullies are so interchangeable at this point._

"Yes, it is." I answered

"It's so easy for you to just walk up there and plant a bomb." Tzuyu muttered. I just chuckled.

"What's your beef with him?" I asked.

"Nothing" she replied.

"SHE'S BLUSHING!" I heard Dahyun's voice through my earpiece.

"THE FUCK I AM! You shut up tofu!"

"No seriously she's redder than a tomato right now, it's hilarious." said Dahyun before bursting into laughter.

"Chingu-yah! Is there something you're not telling us?" I teased.

"W-well..."

"Come on Tzuyu-ah" I smiled still hearing Dahyun's laughter in the background.

"JACKSONTRIPPEDMEANDIFELLFACEFIRSTINTOSANASBOOBS"

"Woah calm down, pretty rapstar, say that again but slowly." I teased. I can't help it. It's not everyday Tzuyu is flustered.

"Jackson tripped me while I was walking to class," she sighed. "It just so happens that Sana unnie was in front of me so I kinda fell into her. My face was on her... chest when we both fell over." Tzuyu finished shyly. _Take all my uwus, yoda_.

"Daebak!" Dahyun, who'd just finished laughing, exclaimed. "I don't know whether I should punch him for tripping you over or thank him for putting you in that situation with your c-"

"ENOUGH! WE HAVE A MISSION TO DO!" Tzuyu exclaimed... "I mean Chaeng. Chaeng has a mission to do. Are you ready to go, chingu?"

"Yeah."

"Got the essentials?" Dahyun asked. "The USB stick do you have it?"

"Yes yes. I have it, don't worry." I replied.

"Good. Don't worry about the earpiece. It's so small, I don't think anyone even in kissing distance would notice." said Dahyun. _KISSING DISTANCE?_

"You have weird ways of measurement, unnie. Kissing distance? Really?" Tzuyu replied for me.

"It's easier to describe that way." Dahyun answered smugly.

I was stopped at the main entrance by a guard. This one had a white mask on. _Oh yeah, all the staff are wearing masks tonight. Cool motif I guess. Makes it easier for me._

"Invitations please." the guard asked and I presented my invitation card.

"Enjoy the night, miss." the guard motioned me to enter.

I stepped into the Entrance Hall and _Wow_. They spared no expense in preparing this college party. It's all so formal.

"Now here's a face I never thought I'd see. Hello Son Chaeyoung" A voice to my right caught my attention.

"Hello, Jimin. Nice place. Cool suit" I complimented.

"Thank you." He bowed. "You came alone?"

"Yeah. Some of my friends aren't really the party going types." I replied.

"And you are?" He chuckled.

"Well no. But I'm always open to new things. Plus I wouldn't miss the chance to see inside THE Park Estate everybody talks about."

"Haha! I guess I can see that. Well nevertheless, enjoy the night yea? I gotta go greet other guests"

"Sure I will. You do that" I smiled and let him leave me alone. _God, interactions are exhausting_ I sighed. _Now what?_

"Okay Chaeng. We don't have visual on you in there. So you need to find the security control room for us." Tzuyu instructed.

"Alright. Give me a few minutes."

I went for the direction of the kitchens as silently as I can. I stalked the empty hallway area of the mansion. _Security is very lax here. A faux pas, no matter how powerful you are, don't be overconfident in your security._ After a few minutes of wandering. I came across the control room. Locked, but it's not like I didn't bring lockpicks with me.

"Alright guys, I'm in the control room. These monitors are gigantic. There's a lot of cameras around the estate and inside the mansion too."

"Good job. Now insert the USB stick on the main computer and install the program that's in it into the PC." Tzuyu instructed.

"Did you program this one Dahyun?" I asked.

"Ehh? What gave you that idea?" she 'innocently' replied.

"Chocopie Installer. It's so obvious."

"I DIDN'T know what to name it okay?" She defended herself.

"Whatever. Installing now... Done. Running the exe file"

"Great. Now go back to the party and socialize."

"What? No." I refused. "How long before you fully control the computer?"

"A while."

"How long is 'a while', Dahyunnie?"

"Like a real while. Look, I'm sure you paid attention in computer class, programming and by extension, hacking isn't exactly easy peasy. We're not in a movie Chaeng." Dahyun scoffed. "It's fast in the movies cause _Plot Convenience_." I could almost see her rolling her eyes. Never change, Dubu.

"Ugh alright, back to the party I guess."

"Enjoy! We'll notify you when we're done." Tzuyu was the one who replied. Maybe Dahyun is already deep into her hacking.

"Okay." I said. Before taking off the USB drive and leaving the control room. _This is gonna be a long night_. _Here goes nothing._

I wandered the party memorizing the faces I see all the while avoiding them. The conversations were interesting, ranging from basic gossip about which person fucked who to borderline illegal practices. REALLY interesting. After a while I decided to head to the bar, _maybe a few drinks will at least be worth coming to this party_. Before I got to the bar though I bumped into a person I never thought I'd see in a place like this, _except me of course_.

"Oh I'm sorry." she quickly bowed before looking up and wore a look of shock as well. _Cute_

"Mina? THE Myoui Mina?... Straight A student Mina?" I said in amazement. Wow. Her dress looks so elegant. An off-shoulder black dress that compliments the black locks of her hair and somehow makes her skin glow. Her lips red and her moles. _MA! HER MOLES!_ They look somehow more noticeable tonight if that makes sense.

"You say that like Straight A student is a bad thing" she replied shyly.

"N-no", I stammered. "It's just... well I thought parties weren't really your thing." I shrugged. _Why am I so nervous?_

"You'd be right. Parties aren't my thing." Mina said matter-of-factly.

"Idiot compliment her." Tzuyu spoke to my earpiece. _Fuck I forgot they can hear this._

"Well. In any case, you look real great tonight." _Fuck_. "NOT that you don't look great everyday, you do. It's just that tonight, you look... exceptional." I finished my jumble of words. I can almost see Tzuyu facepalming on the other side. Mina however just laughed. And what a melodic laugh it was. _It's hypnotizing._

"Are you done blabbering Ms. Son?" she said smiling. _Stop that, I might just- URGGHGH_

"I uhhh yeah" I said, accepting my defeat

"Well thank you. You're not so bad looking yourself with that red dress. It's a refreshing change from all the denim and black attires you usually wear. They're not bad, but it's a nice change." Mina smiled as she finished. _Oh my god, I can die now_.

"You think so?", I asked before realising something. "Wait wait wait. All the denim and black... Have you been observing me, Ms. Myoui?" I teased. And it might just have been the lighting but I saw a slight tinge of red on her cheeks.

"N-NO." she stammered. _Oh how the tables have turned._ Mina pinched the bridge of her nose, "Ugh I compliment you once and it already goes to your head. I thought vanity was more Nayeon's thing?" she teased back. My eyebrows raised almost involuntarily.

"Wow harsh. Message received and will be delivered, Mina" I laughed.

"Wait. please no. Last time I dissed her, she didn't talk to me for a week. Imagine that? Nayeon not talking for a week?" Mina shuddered.

"Well that is a scary prospect indeed." I admitted. "I take it you know each other well?"

"Yes. I mean she's my senior. And also a fellow member of the student council." she replied.

"Fellow member?" my brows furrowed

"Why yes, Chaeyoung, why?"

"You're a member of the council?"

"Wow chingu, I thought you always paid attention to Mina-unnie?" I hear Yoda say from the other line.

"Right? For shame." Dahyun butted in.

"Yes, Chaeyoung I am. VP for internal affairs to be exact." Mina replied. "You didn't know?"

"I uhh no, I didn't" I rubbed my nape in embarrassment.

"Aigoo. You didn't even vote did you?" she teased more

"I- I was kind of absent during student elections. Hehe"

"You're unbelievable." Mina shook her head, amused.

"What can I get you two ladies?" The bartender asked. Female. She's almost the same height as me. And I spotted a tattoo on her neck, though I can't make out what it is.

"Uhhh" Mina hesitated next to me so I took the initiative.

"Two vodka martinis please. Thank you." I answered and I saw Mina raised her left brow in my peripheral.

"Alright. Coming up." the bartender replied.

"This is the most formal college party I've ever seen." Mina mentioned beside me.

"You've seen many?" I asked.

"No not much, I can only gather from some I went to, and things I hear around campus. It's amazing the things people say in your presence when they think they're alone." Mina replied.

"Huh... I guess if I wanted school gossip, I guess I know who to go to now." I smiled at her.

"Gossip? Excuse you. I only deal in truth, Son." she faked an offended look.

"Here's your vodka martini" The bartender is back.

"Thank you. Cheers." Mina replied.

"Hmmm gotta say, you two are the best looking and mild-mannered couple I've seen all night. The usual ones just litter the bar, chewing each others' faces off." the bartender commented.

"Uhh thanks but we're n-" Mina started but I flicked her knees before she could continue.

"Thank you!" I interrupted. "You're very kind."

"Merely stating a fact." The bartender replied. "If you'll excuse me."

I just nodded and smiled as she left. Smiling that is until I felt a sharp slap on my arm. _Jesus this girl has force._

"What was that for?" I asked rubbing my arm

"No. What was THAT for?" Mina raised her eyebrow. "We're not a couple." _I mean. True._

"So?" I replied

"So? You let the bartender compliment us like that thinking we are one."

"Like I said. So? Look around you, Mina. The moment that bartender walked away from us, she's already forgotten us among the sea of faces in this party." I reasoned. "Besides," I picked up my drink. "Introverts gotta stick together", I finished before toasting our glasses together. "To reclusiveness!" I winked at her before taking a sip of the martini, spotting Mina following suit.

"Ms. 'I have many friends' over here talking about reclusiveness." she teased after taking a sip.

"Ohh Myoui." I said. "Having a number of friends, an extrovert does not make." I smiled and she laughed. _Cute_

"Alright whatever you say Billie Shakespeare." she shrugged.

"Billie?"

"Billie. William, Bill, Billie." she sheepishly grinned. _CUTE_

"God, English nicknames are weird." I muttered

"I know right?" Mina concurred

"Like Bob, how does Robert become Bob?"

"Right?"

"Or RICHARD! Jesus, how do you even get Dick from Richard?" I finished my rant with another sip.

"I don't know." Mina shrugged. "Ask him nicely I guess." she chuckled at her own joke.

And me? I choked on the martini. I coughed. It fucking burned. Which somehow made Mina more amused if her laughing were to go by. I can also hear Tzuyu snickering on the line.

"Glad you think my misery is funny" I pouted after recovering.

"It was just a joke Chaeyoung-ah." Mina said before chuckling again. _SO FUCKING CUTE. THAT'S THE CUTEST 'CHAEYOUNG-AH' I'VE EVER HEARD_

"I know. It was funny, Minari." I admitted. "I wanted to laugh but I was busy choking on the martini." I teased

"Ah. Sorry." she tucked her hair behind her ear. _Stop being so cute._

"I don't think I can stop such a thing, Chaeyoung." she suddenly said.

"Ah fuck. I said that aloud?"

"Yep. Loud and clear."

"Aish. Sorry Minari." I grimaced.

"It's okay." she leaned into me and whispered, "I think you're pretty cute too." and she smiled before going back to drinking her martini. "It's getting too noisy here. Wanna accompany me outside?" she changed the topic so fast.

"Sure!" I answered before standing up.

_Years ago..._

_"Chaeyoungie. I don't think I have much fight left in me."_

_"Mom please don't say that. You're all I have."_

_"That's not true, baby and you know it. I know I have raised you as best I can. You have yourself. And in difficult times, sometimes ourselves are all we have."_

_"I-I can't lose you too."_

_"I know. I have tried to be strong, but even I have to admit ever since your dad... It hasn't been as easy."_

_"I love you, Mom."_

_"And I, you, my sweet ttalgi. Be strong when I'm gone."_

_"I-I'll try."_

_Present day..._

Mina and I stare at the moon, the cold air touching our faces. It's a very comfortable silence, the muffled sounds of the party going on in the background.

"Hey Chaeng."

"Hmm?"

"Why are you in this party really?"

"Not sure either. Tzuyu convinced me to come in her stead." _Hehe sorry Tzuyu-ah_

"Oh. Well, I'm glad you came. I would've just stood in a corner somewhere otherwise. Haha"

"No problem. Plus introverts-"

"-gotta stick together."

At that we laughed.

"Anyway, I gotta go." said Mina.

"So soon?" I was a bit surprised. Though not that much

"Yeah. It's been nice spending the party with you."

"Me too. You got a ride home?"

"Yeah, my car is over there." She pointed to a black four door sedan.

"Let me walk you there."

"Alright let's go."

As we walked, I noticed her walking, it's a far cry from the elegancy that she does at school or earlier. I guess it's her walk when she's comfortable? It's so cute. She's like a penguin.

"Guess this is goodbye for now, Chaeng."

"Yep. See you around at school Minari."

"Alright."

"Drive safe."

We smiled at each other before she pulled out of the parking spot. I kept up my smile as her car got farther and farther until the car is only a speck in the distance. Then I dropped it.

"Alright. You guys copy?"

"Yes." Tzuyu answered

"Finished the hacking?"

"Yep like we were done minutes ago." Dahyun replied.

"WHAT? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I hit my forehead.

"I wanted to but Tzuyu kept covering my mouth before I could say anything."

"Are you kidding? Did you see them? They're so cute. I didn't want to interrupt their love-dovey moment." Tzuyu said in this high pitched voice I've never heard her do before... except when talking about Sana.

"LOVEY-DOVE-" I sighed. "Nevermind. Let's go back to focusing on this mission."

"Our missions are a constant in our lives, chingu. Moments like that where you can be a normal kid are rare." _I hate it when she has a point._

I went back to my car and brought out a package. A staff uniform that Dahyun oh-so kindly hi-jacked and prepared for me, complete with a full face white mask. _Love you tofu._

I re-entered the party as a staff this time. Scanning the party for faces until I spot him. And there he was, Lui Chan. The life of the party it seems if the crowd that had gathered around him were anything to go by. And by the tinge of red covering his face, he's already deep into his alcohol for tonight. This will be easy... Hopefully.

"There you are." A voice shocked me from my observations.

It was the female bartender from before. "Look the bar is really crowded. I need help. And since you seem to not be doing anything but staring at the dancing crowd, you're coming with me."

I could do nothing but nod, and follow her to the bar.

"Oh yeah, we're out of gin. Could you go to storage and pickup two bottles?" I nodded again.

_THAT'S A LOT OF LIQUOR_ was my first thought when I entered the storage room. There's cognac, red wine, white wine, beer, champagne and all sorts of alcoholic stuff. In the corner of my eye, I spotted something. _Rat poison hmmm... ideas ideas. _I quickly pocketed a packet before picking up the two bottles I needed and left.

The bar was busy indeed, it took a bit of time serving faces I don't know and some faces I do recognize.

"One margarita please." someone ordered. I know this one. Jeon Soyeon, one of the music club's best. I quickly served the cocktail she needed. I admit, she's cute. Her long blonde hair compliments her small-ish face.

"What are you staring at?" she asked. _Jeez her gaze is penetrating through the mask I'm wearing_. I shook my head and went back to serving the crowd.

Until opportunity struck, the bar was almost empty, everyone is on the dance floor when someone approached. Lui Chan himself, a little wobbly. Too drunk now. Damn.

"How do you plan to tackle this, Chaeng" I heard Dahyun ask.

"Relax, I have a plan." I whispered

"Hey! One bloody mary please." the target ordered. I nodded and started mixing the drink. I looked around for any potential witness before dropping the content of the rat poison into the mix.

"Here you go. One bloody mary." I said as I served it to him. He drank it in one go.

"This party is amazing, no?" He tried to make small talk

"To die for, sir." I deadpanned.

"Indeed. It's... ugh..." he squinted at me. "Ugh I think the alcohol is getting to me, I'm gonna puke. Where's the comfort room?"

"I'll lead the way sir, follow me." I said.

As we entered the men's comfort room, I directed him to the toilet.

"There you go si-" I started but he was already there, hurling all the contents from his stomach. I went to the door of the room and locked it while the target retches his dinner and whatever he had tonight into the toilet bowl. He at least had the decency to flush while still knelt down.

"Ughhh. I'm never drinking again." He declared. I smiled.

"I can arrange that."

"What?"

Before he could gather his senses, I plunged his head into the waters of the toilet bowl. He struggled, he shook, but to no avail. But I wasn't paying attention. My mind is somewhere else.

_Counting the ticks of my watch 1... 2... 3..._

_Counting the tile pieces on the wall 14...15...16..._

_Counting the moles I remember on Mina's face 2...3...4..._

_Counting the liquor stashes on the cellar_

_Counting the familiar faces I saw on the party..._

_Counting the colors of the fireworks on that fateful day..._

_Counting... 1... 2..._

_Chaeyoung... Chaeyoung..._

"Chaeyoung!" Tzuyu's voice in my earpiece brought me back to reality. "I think he's dead."

I got carried away again. I checked my victim's pulse and heartbeat. There were none. I slapped him to be sure. No response.

"Kill confirmed. Estimated time of death 22:00" I spoke to them.

"Affirmative. Now hide the body."

"What's the cleanest route to the parking lot?" I asked

"Why?" Dahyun asked in return

"I have an idea where to hide the corpse."

"Very well, we'll guide you there."

I carried the target's body through the mansion with DaTzu guiding me. Many close calls were encountered but I trust them. As I got to the lot, I saw the car that I need, it took a bit of time but eventually I picked the lock and stuffed the body in it.

"Jackson is in for a surprise when he finds that there." Tzuyu snickered a bit.

"No kidding. Yikes." Dahyun agreed.

I walked back to my car, along the way I saw a familiar face, Soyeon walking towards me, rummaging something from her bag. I kept silent and let her walk past me.

"HEY!" a voice called. It's hers. I stopped and gulped.

_Witnesses for our assassinations must be disposed of._

She held my shoulder and turned me around, I almost punched her by reflex.

She stared and squinted her eyes at me.

"You got a light dude?" she asked, raising a cig in her hand. I almost sighed in relief. I took the lighter in my pocket and lit the cigarette that's in between her red lips. She puffed and huffed the smoke before smiling at me. "Thank you." She patted my shoulder before walking to her car and left the party. I sighed then.

"That was tense, Chaeng, you weren't breathing most of that time." Dahyun said

"No kidding. I was ready to dispose of her as per our regulations, if she did witness it." I replied before walking to my car. Changed into my dress from before and drove away.

"Mission success. Sending reports to our handler now." said Tzuyu.

"Deleting camera footage." Dahyun followed. "Oh and I downloaded some juicy blackmail data from the Parks' database. They got a lot of incriminating stuff in there."

"Good job guys." I said.

My name is Son Chaeyoung, and along with Kim Dahyun and Chou Tzuyu, we're the School Meal Club. To the people of the world, and our fellow students, we're just some nerds, nobodies. And honestly that works in our favor. To hide the stuff we have done and the blood we have shed. We're neither good nor evil. We're not beacons of justice. We were trained and paid to do one thing. Kill our targets by any means necessary.

**We're assassins.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for now, how was it?
> 
> Let me know your thoughts


	3. Contract 2 - Cinema's Greatest Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tzuyu was bored. It's one of those normal days. Thankfully their handler had a contract for her to tackle. She jumped at the opportunity immediately. School was boredom for an assassin after all.

The life of an assassin isn't always blood and shadows. To me at least. I don't know about Chaeng and Dahyun but I'm sure they agree with me. In between contracts, there's always a dull interlude where the powerful people with too much money on their hands simply can't come up with reasons to have us kill their enemies, hence we are simply living normal lives. Well... as normal as it can get being a college student who kills people on the side for money. This is one of those days. I'll have to admit though, I love these days, where we have a semblance of normalcy, a break from all the killing that we do for a living. That's why I push my friends into living whatever chance they have at normalcy as much as they can too. As assassins, we never get much opportunity.

College life is boring. In our assassin training, we already learned a lot of pretty advanced stuff that could set us for life, our going to college is just a cover up, a way to further blend into society, from the simple students to the heirs of the elites, we get to keep an eye on them. This is what I enjoy here at least, seeing the normal students live the life I could be living right now if I didn't join the assassin order. If you ask me though, I have no regrets, I will still make the same decision if you take me back. But who knows, maybe I'll try normal just for the fun of it. Heh. Fun. Back home? I doubt that. I miss my mom, sometimes I wish I could go home. If only they didn't insist on... <sigh> that doesn't matter now. I made my decision to leave and now I'm here. A killer. Willing to do what others can't for the money. It's unethical work, but I have to do what I must.

Bullying is a problem we three always encounter in our university. Well I say problem, more like an irritant. The words they throw at us simply... Well frankly, they fall flat and very unoriginal. Me, Dahyun and Chaeng have been through and called worse. I feel bad for the other so-called nerds though, unlike us, they aren't trained killers who at the age of 20+ are unfazed by almost anything hurtful. And here, as I walk to my locker, arrives my other problem, Minatozaki Sana. She is, for lack of better words at this moment, very beautiful and hot. She is chased by many, she's a big deal here. The thing is though, she's a bit of a heartbreaker... And a bully. This baffles me as she's friends with Mina, Nayeon and Jihyo, who are high ranking officers of the student council. But she's also friends with Jeongyeon, another sort of bully, but she's... a story for another time.

"Sup nerd" she greets me, though it's a bit of a drag, she doesn't come off as intimidating because of her cute voice. _I MEANT SMALL VOICE!_

"H-hi Sana-ssi" I greeted and bowed still portraying the meek student I'm supposed to be. Without replying she hands me her bag and walked away. I just looked back and forth from her and the bag in puzzlement. She turned around, right brow raised and all.

"Well? Walk me to my class Yoda. I command you." she ordered before turning around again. I looked at the other students in the hallway who are looking at me <sigh> let's just get it over with I guess. I followed Sana to her classroom carrying her bag, which was a WHOLE building separate from mine. Did she come all the way to my building just to order me to carry her bag to her class? Probably not. But it's strange. I observed Sana as we walked. She walks... Normal, not containing Mina's elegance nor Jeongyeon's... erratic walking style. Though I notice she has her head held high, like anyone she passes are beneath her, and she has a bit of sway to her hips when she walks too. At my peripheral, I can see some of her fangirls following in the distance observing her too.

"Stop staring at my ass!" I heard from her.

"I wasn't staring." I muttered with a bit of indignance. _Was I?_

"Yes you were. _Ugh_ you lesbians are all the same." she spat, while still walking. What's with the fucking venom?

"You don't even know what I am. AND what do you have against lesbians?" I almost shouted. _I shouldn't let her get to me_. The mantra repeated in my mind, but I can't help it, assassin or not, it still stung.

"Well lesbians are always coming on to me. It's so... Icky. As for you. I've seen the way you dress, the way you walk, and talk. It was enough to draw that conclusion. Plus, when interacting with your friend... What's her face? Chaegyong? Her. You have this... Weird lustful look, like you wanna swallow her up or something. It's disgusting. She's not even pretty! So not only do you wanna... fuck your little friend, your taste is a bit clapped too." She finished her little rant with a vomiting motion. Every word she said added force to my grip on the bag I'm holding. _Whose bag is this again? _That was the last straw.

For the first time in the whole year Dahyun, Chaeyoung and I have spent here, crafting our persona, played into the nerds people perceived us to be... I broke character. I gripped Sana's shoulder to stop her and turn her around. Her look of superiority turned to shock in a split second when she looked at me. I don't know what I looked like then and there, and I didn't care. All I know is I'm at my boiling point for the first time. For the first time, I looked at Sana and I didn't feel... the weird attractions I felt before. All I felt was cold anger.

"I don't know your history. I don't know what kind of fucked up life you live at home for you to think the way you do. And honestly, I don't fucking care to know now. But I tell you this, you can take your narrow-minded view on us and shove it up your ass. Stay the fuck away from Dahyun, never talk about Chaeyoung. And sure as hell never. Talk to me. Ever again." I gritted my teeth as I spoke the words that won't stop coming.

Was I that angry at her? Perhaps it was my anger accumulated from all the bullying around campus? Or perhaps because I was disappointed that I thought somehow there's a redeemable trait in her, and now I find none, none that shows at least. Nonetheless I released her shoulders and shoved her bag into her arms, the force of which might have shocked her again as she was pushed a bit back.

"Take your bag and fuck off, Minatozaki." I spat the words before walking away from her, mindless of the looks I'm getting or whether she's screaming at me or not. Seething with anger. _But was it all on her or were some anger at myself? I don't know. I don't fucking care_. I now want this dull day to be over...

It's lunchtime, I'm spending this boring day in the canteen. Waiting for the two to show up. Chaeyoung has Art class and Dahyun is currently at the school paper. She's... Taken to being a journalist for some reason.

"Hi baby Tzuyu!" a baby-ish voice I dread greeted me, pulling me out of my thinking. There sat in front of me is none-other than Im Nayeon.

"I uhh Hi Nayeon unnie." I tried to smile. We're not close really. But she really REALLY tries.

"Have you had lunch?" she asked.

"No, unnie. I haven't yet. I'm waiting for Dahyun and Chaeng." I replied.

"Oww let me get you lunch, what do you want?" she smiled at me. _Oh god I'm bad at this_. I stammered a bit. Thankfully a savior arrived. Well not really. My phone started ringing.

"Uhm, you should go order for yourself now unnie, I gotta take this." I grimaced as I rushed to the restroom.

"Hello." I answered the phone.

"Dragon. Hunting opportunity. Check the message on your group computer for details." Ms. Liu, our handler's voice told me through the phone. Thank god, finally, something to keep me from this dull day.

"On it, Ms. Liu." I confirmed.

"Thank you. Good hunting." with that, she ended the call.

On the walk back to my table, I saw it was already crowded. Mina and Jihyo were there with Nayeon, Chaeyoung and Dahyun too. _And Sana_. I don't know how they manage to stay civil to each other despite Sana's... attitude, but they do. Getting near them, I felt a bit of tension, but not something overly tangible.

"_Dragon's going hunting. Need to get out._" I whispered to Dahyun's ear.

"Oh my god, they actually accepted you for interview? I'm amazed, Tzuyu-ah" Dahyun spoke loudly so the others at the table can hear. She really doesn't fail to make excuses does she?

"Didn't expect it either." I smiled.

"Well you should go buy your wardrobe now, chingu" Chaeyoung butted in. She caught on apparently.

"What? I still have classes" I feigned resistance

"We take the same classes after lunch. You can copy our notes." Dahyun 'reasoned'

"Uhh... Alright. I'll go now." with that I stood up. I bowed to the girls on the opposite side of the table.

"Sorry to ditch lunch, unnies, I gotta go." I quickly said before walking away. I have a job to do.

As soon as I read the contract details, I packed up necessary stuff and drove to a movie set near the river. The target is _Yoon Seungmin_. And actor, director and stuntman. The contract for his assassination was put on by a drug cartel. He is currently directing the movie he also stars in. Apparently a commentary against the drug trade happening in this damn country. Problem is, if the cartel is to be believed, _Yoon_ himself is a cocaine addict. A frequent user of the very same drugs he is criticizing in his film. And apparently, he has refused to pay for the latest packs of cocaine he has ordered and presumably consumed. Instead, he has taken to blackmailing the cartel into giving him the drugs for free, threatening to reveal information about the biggest drug lords to the police and media. This mission has two objectives: kill the target in any way, though preferably looking accidental, and taking the flash drive containing his blackmail data.

As I pulled up into the street near the set, I considered my options. _Hmmm it looks like Mr. Yoon has ordered a few guards to patrol the area. _I discreetly followed a guard patrolling ways away from the others. Male, not really my size, but the uniform will do. Hopefully. When I was sure no one was looking I put him into a chokehold and snapped his neck before dragging him into an alleyway and stealing his uniform. Choking him to unconsciousness would have worked if this was a quick job. But no, I foresee this to take longer, and I can't risk a witness. It is protocol. After dumping the body into a dumpster, I went towards the movie set as a "guard" this time. And tied my hair into a ponytail, threw in a face mask and sunglasses for good measure. _Better than risking getting caught. _I entered the warehouse where the current scene they are shooting is. A guard approached me. And I relaxed my composure as he did.

"What's this? Damn it's my turn to patrol outside already?" He asked. I just nodded. "Ah shit. I guess I got carried away watching this thing. Mr. _Yoon_ really knows how to make action and drama. N-not to sound like movie nerd or anything. Heh anyway, thank you for being gracious enough to come and remind me yourself." with that, the guard left the warehouse, presumably to patrol the outside area.

I looked around. There are so many people here. It's so easy to not be noticed, I could have come in undisguised and no one would bat an eye. The Hair and Makeup people are busy with the actors, the personal assistants reading the lines to them, the cameramen, lights tech, and set designers are busy coordinating, and the target, Director or I guess main actor too, _Yoon Seungmin _is reprimanding his, if I'm not mistaken, assistant director.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE PROPS ARE INCOMPLETE?" He screamed to the poor girl's face.

"E-exactly what it is, sir. The prop pistol for you has not arrived yet, it's been delayed and due to arrive tomorrow, the machine gun replicas came first." his assistant replied shuffling her feet. _Yoon_ pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Okay well, no use dwelling on that. Let's shoot other scenes not involving that pistol for now, leave the other scenes for tomorrow. What do we have?"

"Oh there are many, sir..."

With that I tuned out the conversation. _I need a copy of that script_. I looked around, surely someone has read a copy of the script and just discarded it somewhere around? _Jackpot_. In a table at one of the corners of the warehouse lies a copy of the script for this film. _People are so predictable. _But we assassins like it that way, makes the whole moving in discreet a bit easier. I opened up the script and searched for the part where they need the pistol prop. Quite a few actually. But what's interesting lies at the end of the script, the climax of the film, the main character is cornered by the _drug cartel's militia_ as the script calls it. And in one _heroic act, _the main character... Well makes quite a shocking decision. _Well, let's work to make that a bit MORE shocking_. I left the movie set afterwards, dropping my guard disguise at the boot of my car, just in case I need for tomorrow.

_Dumpster. Near the movie set. Dead male. Need cleanup_, I texted to Ms. Liu.

_Sending cleanup now. _Was the reply.

Next for my elaborate plan, I went to a toy shop in the heart of the city. The small chimes rang when I opened the door. And one of the two owners of the shop looked up.

"Well if it isn't my favorite cold blooded snake. One of them anyways."

"Hello Kookie. How's business?" I greeted him, Jungkook, one of the owners of this... _Clean establishment_.

"_Kookie" _the other, owner, Mark snorted.

"Doing well actually, glad you asked. But why are you REALLY here. I doubt you're here to access some Star Wars merchandise?" He grinned.

"Actually, I'm here for some of your toys... a wig to be exact." I replied.

"Hmm let's fix you up then." after that, he leads me to one of the sections of the shop.

"Well? What's on your mind? Blonde? Red? Jet black?" He asked as he showed the wigs in front of me.

"I think we're going jet black, makes me stand out even less than my brown right now." I requested.

"Girl, no matter what hair, you wear you easily stand out with that pretty face. Makes me wonder why you're seen as a nerd at school sometimes too" Jungkook laughed.

"I know that. But hair color helps a lot in changing the features. Plus I'll be wearing some 'prescription' glasses AND a cap the whole time, and you'd be surprised how people get thrown off by how big of a change it makes. The main purpose is for disguise, standing out less is secondary."

"Alright no need to convince me any further" Jungkook acquiesced.

...

"Well I'll be damned. I know you're still Tzuyu, but damn it almost threw me off how well the black hair fits you. You just need the glasses now." Jungkook looked at me as I put on a cap over my black wig.

"Works like a charm. Especially on total strangers" I smiled.

"Indeed. Well, is there anymore services you require?" he asked me.

"Yes. I need to access your shop's more... Deadly toys." came my reply. He smirked.

"Follow me."

With that, I followed Jungkook as he led me to the back rooms into a familiar elevator hidden in the walls. I've been here before, when I needed access to guns of all types, I always went here. Their armory is illegal, and thus the guns are stored in an underground area that they built with the help of their associates. Jungkook and Mark has gone far with their double business. One foot deep in the black market, and the other, a legal toy retail shop. Maybe we, the School Meal Club, could learn a thing or two from this tactic.

As we arrived, I saw lines of guns, ranging from simple knives to pistols to high caliber sniper rifles, they got them all.

"What do you need from the stash today? Judging from the need to disguise, I'm guessing you'll be up close, so I doubt it'd be a rifle?" Jungkook asked me as I looked around.

"You're right. Actually, I need something more special today. You know about those gun replicas they use in movie sets?" I asked

"Oh yes! I know about those. Recently prop guns, like the toys sold for kids, have the tip of the barrels colored orange to indicate that they're not real to the authorities." He answered.

"Yes. And they fire blanks too. The orange tip is actually colored black in the final product of the film via editing. So what I need is a real gun, disguised as a prop." I explained.

Jungkook didn't say a word, instead he opened up a crate off to the side, I looked inside and my eyebrows did raise. He smiled.

"These are Beretta M9's. The most commonly used model for prop guns across many movies. With many movies using it, you'd think Beretta M9 is the only model of pistols used in the world. These ones' tips are colored orange, and a bit lighter than the real gun to give off the impression that it's fake." He explained. Before loading one's magazine with bullets and handing it to me. He pointed to a few target dummies at the other end of the room.

I smirked at him before taking aim, holding my breath and fired five times. All hitting the head of one of the dummies, dead center.

"Show off." Jungkook rolled his eyes.

"Hey! You asked." I shrugged before handing the gun back. "I'll take it."

"Charge it on the usual account?"

"You know it."

With that I finished my business with them. We went back up to the shop and I walked to the front door, now I have an assistant to follow.

"Oh Tzuyu!" Jungkook called before I was out. "Come back some time, I may have a business that might need your <ehem> expertise to deal with. There will be a discount for you." he followed up.

"I'll keep that in mind, Kookie" I answered before leaving the shop entirely.

When I returned to the set, it was already sunset. It was a nice color to look at as I wait for the crew to disperse. Eventually though, the assistant director herself came out. _She drives a fucking Yamaha bike? Not gonna lie, that's hot. _I thought as she pulled into the highway. And well, I have to follow. A few times throughout, it almost seemed like she would notice my car, but I did not need to worry. Eventually, my tailing her, led to a suburban neighborhood. She lives in a two-story house. There doesn't seem to be other occupants there. I took a picture of her house after she entered, tagged the location and eventually left. That's all the preparation needs for now. Tomorrow is the execution of the plan.

I unlocked the door to our house, I've been sharing this one with Dahyun and Chaeng for years. It's the Sons' house, left as hers alone after her mother died. It took some time considering this my home at first, but now, I can't even begin to imagine leaving this house forever.

"Wow. You look... Like something." Chaeyoung spoke as she saw me enter.

"good observational skills, chingu" I said as I sat beside her on the couch.

"Haven't killed him yet?" Dahyun asked as she came in from the kitchen. "I read the target details."

"No, I haven't. I merely setup what I needed. Listen, Dahyun I need you to steal the flash drive for me tomorrow, you can find it right?" I asked

"Of course!" she answered a bit giddy.

"Sweetness. I have a guard uniform at the back of my car, you can use that. I'm sure security force will be doubled if they noticed one of theirs missing earlier, but I believe in you." I smiled at the pale girl.

"What about me?" Chaeyoung pouted. Oof. There she goes again with the pouting.

"Uhh tomorrow at dawn, we'll be putting the assistant director to uhm... An extended sleep with a serum, I'm gonna need you to keep an eye on her, and readminister the serum if necessary." I explained.

"Well. Beats spending it at school, I guess." she smiled.

"Tzuyu-ah"

"Yeah Chaeng?"

"I heard you got in a fight with Sana."

"Not really a fight, chingu. I just kinda snapped and broke character."

"Was she bullying you again?"

"You could say that."

"Well she must have said something harsh to have gotten under your skin like that. What did she say?"

"That's... Between her and me, Chaeng. It's best you and Dahyun don't know."

"Something about sexuality isn't it?"

"Chaeng..."

"Alright, I'll drop it. Just... I just hope she changes you know."

"Me too, Chaeng. I do wish that too."

"Let's go to sleep, we have a hit to do tomorrow."

"Yeah let's. Goodnight chingu."

"goodnight."

_Years ago..._

_"Are you the captain of the ship?"_

_"Yes. How may I help you?"_

_"Where is this ship going?"_

_"South Korea."_

_"Can I come?"_

_"Sorry, young one, but you can't."_

_"Why? I can pay, name your price."_

_"You don't understand. It's not about money. Ship's already exceeded the passenger limit. We don't have room for you, young lady."_

_"I... what about crew? I can work. Please?"_

_"You want to get out of Taiwan that bad? Alright, lass, I'll humor you. What can you bring to the table?"_

_"I can cook. My mother taught me how to cook a lot of dishes. I can cook for the ship until we reach South Korea."_

_"Hmm... Chef's been complaining about lacking kitchen help lately. You may just be what she's looking for."_

_"Really? Oh thank you!"_

_"Yes. Really. Now what's your name, lass?"_

_"Sally Chou"_

_"Well. Welcome aboard the 'Shield-Maiden', Sally. Now go report to the chef, down at the kitchens."_

_"Aye aye! Cap'n!"_

_"<snort> teenagers... <whispers> I don't know who you are, Sally, or even if your name is Sally. But I feel in my bones that this is the right thing to do..."_

_Present_

"Tzuyu!" I heard a familiar voice and felt myself being shaken awake. "Tzuyu, wake up, it's 2am."

"Mmmm 3 more minutes!" I groaned. I heard a low-toned chuckle that could only be Chaeyoung.

"Chingu, if you don't wake up now, that assistant director will wake up and you'll miss the assassination op." that was all it took for me to get into gear.

"Alright. I'm up, no scaring me like that."

A few minutes later, I've dressed in a civilian disguise, brunette wig, face mask, cap and glasses. Dahyun is dressed with the security uniform, apparently she had time to refit that for her size. And Chaeyoung is dressed as... A maid. I raised my brows when she came out of her room.

"What? What if someone comes and asks for the girl? I can just pass off as a servant." she winked and tapped her temple.

"Just say you want to cosplay a maid, Chaengchaeng." Dahyun laughed before getting cuffed in the head by the other small girl.

"Haha alright, let's move out." I said before picking up my necessities.

"I'm at the movie set now." I heard Dahyun's voice in my earpiece.

"Great. We just arrived at the assistant's house too." I answered as Chaeyoung and I climbed the wall into the backyard.

We sneaked quietly through the house. It's nicely decorated. It doesn't look like one person lives in it alone. Perfect for Chaeyoung's disguise I guess. But first, to administer the serum. We approached the girl's bedroom, and there she is, soundly sleeping. I opened my briefcase containing the _Morpheus_, the sleeping serum. With the syringe in hand, I approached the sleeping girl but her phone rang. She shuffled in her bed, I quickly held her hand and applied the serum on her. And like clockwork, the serum took affect and miss assistant director is pulled to Morpheus' realm. _Sweet dreams. _I picked up the girl's phone after it stopped ringing. **Song Ji Sung **huh. I opened her convo with the target. After learning her texting style I started texting.

**Jisung**

_Yoon-nim, I contracted a fever. I can't make it today. Luckily though, I have a friend I can send to take over for me._

**Yoon Seungmin**

_Damn it Jisung. Whatever. Just make sure the substitute you're sending won't give me headaches._

**Jisung**

_Don't worry sir. She can handle the job._

"Well. Here's where you now go to the movie set and let me take care of things here, chingu." said Chaeyoung

"Alright, you take care here." I smiled back.

"You got the fake prop?"

"Yep."

"Alright. Goodluck."

I arrived at the set at almost 3:30. At the makeshift "gate" a guard stopped me.

"Who are you?" he asked

"Ms. Song the assistant director sent me here. She's sick and I'm supposed to substitute for her." I answered meekly, a trait that we already perfected at school.

"Hmmm Yoon did say a substitute is arriving today. Lemme check your ID."

I did as asked.

"Huh. Sally Kim. You don't look like a 'Sally'." the guard mentions.

"You don't look like a 'Sally' either, sir." I answered.

"Tss weirdo, go on ahead." he said giving back my 'ID Card'

I walked towards the warehouse, where everything is setup.

"Ah, you must be the one Jisung sent." _Yoon_ greeted when he noticed me.

"Yes sir. I was sent because-" I started

"Jisung is sick blah blah, I know. Have you read the script?" he rolled his eyes.

"Yes sir. Which sequence are we shooting first?"

"Sequence #81, the confrontation on the 'rooftops'." he answered.

"Wow. First scene and it's already that?" this was no feint, I was actually surprised.

"Yes. Since it will be a messy one, I've decided we shoot that first. What do you think?" he explained. _You're right, it WILL be messy._

"I think that's a good idea. Have the stunt coordinators checked the prop guns, especially the one you'll use?" I reminded.

"Well... No. But who cares let's just shoot this thing." He admitted.

"Sir. It's for your safety. And everyone in the set." I reasoned. He massaged his forehead.

"Ugh. Goddamnit. You sound just like Jisung. No wonder she sent you. Damn it, alright I'll have the coordinators check the prop thoroughly. You go fix me some coffee." He ordered before approaching the stuntmen.

After Yoon got his coffee he went to the hair and makeup artists. After 10 minutes minutes the stuntmen finished checking and left the prop gun. _Perfect_. When I saw no one's looking, the loaded pistol holstered on my waist, I approached the prop gun, and like trained, quickly switched the two. After that, I left the prop area. _Pieces are in place, it's now up to fate._

"Well, Sally? I told you, the prop is safe to use." Yoon Seungmin said, "Now let's go shoot this scene, this haggard look is exhausting to wear."

"It was for your safety sir. Regardless, let's begin." I smiled.

"Alright everyone setup."

"Camera rolling!" the camera crew yelled.

"Lights on!" the lighting staff said.

"3...2...1... SEQUENCE #81! FINAL SCENE! LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!" I yelled before clapping the clapperboard.

**The scene**

Lee Sungha (Yoon Seungmin), the main character is at a dead end, at the rooftops with nowhere to go. Surrounded by five goons and the mafia boss. He pointed his pistol, _the Maria_, at them.

"Stay back!" He yelled.

"Come on, Lee. You're surrounded with nowhere to go. Tired. Wounded. And with how many bullets in your gun? 3? 1 maybe?" one of the thugs yelled back.

"I just need the stash, Lee. The drug stash you stole from me. Just tell me where it is." said mafia boss.

"And then what? You're gonna kill me anyway?" Sungha countered. "You already took everything from me. My wife and child. They were all I have!"

"And they wouldn't have lost their lives if you weren't so stubborn. It wasn't something personal, Lee. It's just business. You were such a promising courier and you bury a big expensive stash just like that." the mafia don answered.

Lightning struck around them. The rainfall covering the tears of our hero.

"I won't let you poison the city with your drugs any longer. I'm not telling you where it is and I hope you'll never find it." he sneered.

"Be reasonable, Lee." the don bargained "Tell me now, and I can take you back into the Family with open arms once more. Or I'll leave you alone forever. It will be up to you. Just tell me where it is!"

"NO!" Sungha yelled, breathing heavily. "And if you think... You can torture... the answers out of me... Try prying the answers out of a dead man's tongue."

With that, our hero took the gun in his hand and pulled the trigger. His brain bits decorated the rooftop floor as the gun blasted his head. Our tragic hero's tale ends, as he died in the rain, blood and water.

"CUT!" I yelled. I looked around the room. Sheesh some are actually crying. "That was a good take everyone! Yoon-nim should we go for another take?"

1...2...3... No response. _It's done. Now I just have to play my part._

"Sir Yoon?" I _nervously_ approached his body on the ground. I looked around and saw people are worried. "Sir?" I widened my eyes. And screamed as shrill as I can.

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**

Chaos erupted. Profanities were thrown here and there. People didn't know what to do. Guards all entered the set.

"EVERYBODY STEER CLEAR OF THE BODY!" one of them yelled. There's no mistaking. That's Dahyun. I was crying when she approached. "Ma'am please clear."

"H-he's..." I whispered.

"I know Ma'am but please let us check." she told me. I stood to the side as she checked the body. During the checking, I saw her pocket something.

"There's no heartbeat or pulse" she told the other guards. "You there, Ma'am" she pointed at me. "Are you okay?"

"I will be. I can't believe he's dead." I sobbed to her.

"Let me take you outside, you need some fresh air." she put my arms on her shoulder and we walked out. No one paid attention when we did walk out because of the glaring, bleeding dead body on the set. It was mass confusion.

"You got it?" I asked Dahyun as soon we arrived home in separate cars. She just looked at me and presented a flash drive before pocketing it again. "Figures. He's that paranoid huh?"

"Yeah. Apparently he has it in his person the whole time. But that's not important right now. What about that ACTING TZUYU?" she laughed.

"I know right?" Chaeyoung butted in, she's home too.

"How long have you been here?" I asked. But she ignored that.

"I heard everything. Jesus it was like one of those radio dramas that my mom made me listen to." she smiled.

"Heard? You should have SEEN HER CHAENG! She was crying so hard, tears and smudged eyeliner and everything!" Dahyun swooned.

"STOP IT! I had to do it, or they'd be suspicious." I shuffled my feet.

"Well regardless, chingu. Mission accomplished AND you even threw in a little acting of your own." Chaeyoung laughed.

"You want an Oscar, Tzuyu-ah?" Dahyun teased.

"I wouldn't turn down an academy award." I smiled.

**CONTRACT: YOON SEUNGMIN, ACTOR/STUNTMAN/DIRECTOR**

**STATUS: COMPLETED. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Opinions? Requests?


	4. Contract 3 - Best Served Cold

_Keep it with you always, Dahyunnie. I love you._

I tuck in my necklace, an eagle talon, as the car exits the highway into the seedier parts of the city. Tzuyu's eyes were on the road but her eyes and ears were alert for potential danger as she drove, Chaeyoung sat on the shotgun seat, busy reading the intel on her laptop.

"Remind me again why you have to do this instead of just straight up assassinating the main target directly?" Chaeyoung asked, looking at me. The main target was the leader of the **Basilisk** cartel, a man by the name of **Yang Dae-Jung** aka the current **Head of the Basilisk**. The cartel is responsible for the import and export of illegal and highly addictive drugs into and out of the country. Their brutal methods are what made them even more infamous upon the crime underworld however, their victims were always found encased in tons of cement, presumably alive for a while, the cement slowly suffocating them. This made them feared, yet also gained them enemies as oft times their victims include either heirs or high ranking members of powerful crime families. And it seems it has reached a boiling point as simply a small upstart drug cartel, looking to bring them down to unite more than 10 families against them... in secret of course. And united crime families are rare to see, they're usually always at each other's throats. Even their own members, they can't trust. That's where we were contracted, a "gang war" is being waged against the Basilisk, but it's nothing but a diversion, to have them focus on the "war" and for us in the shadows to strike and sever the Head of the Basilisk. But...

"We cannot rely on intel from our contractors alone, Chaeng." I answered. "For one, these intel are from the enemies of our target, we don't know how reliable it is or if it's up to date. Secondly, I don't trust these crime families as far as I could throw them, I'd rather we rely on things we know." And it's true I may work for these cartels, gangs or mafia, but only for our gain and not for their prosperity, if a new contract suddenly went up for the death of my current contractor, I'd gladly turn my blade against them... after they have paid for the contract I have completed of course. I wish everything else in life is that simple.

"But to go after some Lieutenant of the Basilisk?" Chaeyoung gave me a skeptical look. "Are you sure **Yang** won't just replace him right away?"

"Not just some lieutenant, Chaeyoung. It's **THE** Lieutenant of the Basilisk himself, **Lee Dong-Sun**." Tzuyu interjected. "He's Yang's right hand man, known as **Venomfang** he's the enforcer, the main source of the brutality their cartel is known for, the encasement of cement, the brutal torture and flaying their skin while alive..."

"... the rape of multiple people, men, women and children alike. Never proven by the police of course but when have they ever? With a crime-infested country like this, I wouldn't be surprised if every cop has their pockets lined up with cash!" I breathed and smiled as the two looked at me. "I read his profile." Not completely true, I have other sources, FIRST-HAND sources of how brutal that snake could be. It makes me wonder why he hasn't fully taken over the cartel himself with the amount of fear his reputation gained him.

"Well, that makes me glad we're doing this now, it'll be like putting down a rabid dog." Chaeyoung looked over the Intel once again.

"Dahyun's got this, chingu." Tzuyu smiled. She looked at me through the rear-view mirror and asked, "You're testing your new spider drone, tonight?"

I smirked at her, "Yep, my baby is primed and ready. I'm sure it will do well."

"You saying it will do well is like saying the sky is blue, unnie." Tzuyu teased. "You didn't sleep for a whole week just to make that thing move."

Her statement drew a small laugh from Chaeyoung and as a result, me as well. "Well, anything to make the job... somehow fun and engaging."

"For you at least." said Chaeyoung. "You won't even let us touch your 'babies'."

"Chaeng it would be irresponsible of me to let you both touch EXPERIMENTAL TECH, wouldn't it? It could blow up in your faces no matter how careful you can be." I defended myself.

"It's a joke, bro. Relax." Chaeyoung stuck out her tongue at me. _This kid..._ I stuck out my tongue back at her.

"Look alive, girls. We're here." Tzuyu reminded us as she pulled the car over. The _here_ being the 'Ninth Circle' a dance club at the surface but its VIP service has... extra services so to speak.

"The informant's passphrase is **_Devil's Lip Service_**.Good luck, Eagle." I heard Chaeyoung say as I walked out. I pulled up my hoodie over the cap I'm wearing as I approached the entrance. Total civilian. Nothing to see here. I noticed so many people, mostly on the younger side were waiting at the entrance arranged in a line as I approached, probably salty that they haven't been allowed in yet.

"Oh come on! And you're gonna let HER in?" I heard one jackass yell to the bouncer as I presented a card that I totally didn't steal and modify.

"It says here she's VIP dude." the bouncer made a show of lifting it. "Enjoy the evening miss." he bowed to me, and I returned it as he gave the VIP card back.

Immediately as I entered, I was blasted with heart-pounding, bass-boosted music. I'm not gonna lie, the music kind of slaps, but business first before pleasure. I headed to where I needed to be the VIP area on the second floor. After presenting "my" VIP card once again, I headed straight for the bar.

"What can I get you tonight, cutie?" asked the bartender with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"One Devil's Lip Service please." I said in a somewhat loud voice.

The bartender just gave me a blank look and said, "I have no idea what that drink is."

"Oh? must be from a different bar I went to." I grinned innocently. "A Bloody Mary will do for now, thanks."

"Okay..." the bartender said slowly. "Let me fix you right up."

_Years ago..._

_"I told you not to get involved. Why do you keep getting involved?"_

_"Look, honey, the evidence is stacked up against Yang. We just needed a steadfast prosecutor to secure the case, that's where I come in."_

_"No you don't get it! No matter how much evidence you pile on that man, he always finds a way to evade justice. My friend was a testament of that years ago. You're putting yourself in needless danger. You're putting me and OUR CHILDREN in danger. I can't let my husband run around and get himself killed in pursuit of a hopeless case!"_

_"Our family is in danger no matter what I do because I'm a lawyer! Yang and people like him are not new. I will not let anything happen to you, to us."_

_"Yang and his so-called basilisks are a different breed of monsters. There's been rumors one of their top dogs being responsible for the recent murders that have been popping up."_

_"If that is true then it's more urgent that we close this case in favor of the prosecution. The head of the basilisk must be cut off."_

_"I'm not changing your mind on this aren't I?"_

_"I'm sorry honey... I'm going to sleep. Goodnight"_

_A sigh... "Goodnight."_

_..._

_"Don't mind me, I'm just getting some milk."_

_"Dahyunnie! How much did you hear?"_

_"Hehe everything"_

_Another sigh_

_"We're gonna be fine, right mom?"_

_"I hope so, sweetie. I hope so."_

_As always my mom gave me an embrace that made me feel safe, secure. How naive I was..._

I sat down at one of the private booths as I waited for my order. I pulled out the spider-bot from under my hair and placed it under the table. The thing about seedy bars is that the security-check is a bit of a joke when you know where to hide what you want to hide. Especially smaller pieces of tech like my spider-bot.

"Eagle to Overwatch." I whispered.

"We hear you loud and clear." Tzuyu's voice came through the other line. I asked for the security room's location.

"It should be on the floor above you." Tzuyu answered after a few seconds.

"Copy that." I whispered as I maneuvered the spider-bot into one of the air-vents using my phone. After a few minutes of wandering the floor with the bot, and stumbling into a private room with a... particularly insatiable couple, I managed to find the security room. And like the security-check, it is pretty much a joke. One security guy, probably underpaid, monitoring 8 security cameras. 3 for the 1st floor where the main club is, 3 on the second, the VIP and 2 on the third floor. The only cliche missing is if this guy fell asleep... and my spider-bot is about to take care of that.

The spider-bot is one of my best new creations, it's still not as small as it should be for a "spider", it's about the size of my phone really now that I think about it. But it has to be that way to accommodate for the things I've put in. Like a USB connector, one sleep dart, and a shock feature. That last part I'm the most proud of, paired with a special battery that can store more power and the Spider can be pretty lethal. The lethal shock charge would use up all the battery's juice of course but it's a great achievement nevertheless. After firing the small sleep dart on the guard's neck, I moved the spider to the main computer and plugged in.

After a few beats, I heard Chaeyoung through my earpiece. "Overwatch to Eagle. We are connected to the database. We have access to the cameras."

"Copy that, Overwatch." I whispered as I ordered the spider to hone in on my phone's location.

Just in time too as the bartender from before, entered the booth and placed a glass of Bloody Mary on the table with a few snacks... and a fortune cookie. I thanked her, but instead of walking out like expected, she locked the door and sat down next to me.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

She giggled. "No. But you do need my help."

"I do?" I asked again, already considering my escape routes if I get compromised.

"Well yes." she leaned back on the seats. "You wouldn't have uttered the passphrase otherwise."

Huh. So she was the informant. I spoke the thought out loud. She just gave a noncommittal shrug.

"So what do you need to know?" she asked.

"Venomfang, where he lives, his schedule, where he goes. Anything you have."

"Venomfang... hmm... big guy, rough-looking despite the lack of beard, has a big vertical scar running through his left eye, which is also completely whited out? That Venomfang?"

"Exactly that Venomfang."

"Oh I don't know about where he lives, but the other things I definitely have. It's gonna cost you though."

"Name your price."

"500."

"Won?"

"Ha! You're funny. Dollars."

"I know I can shell that out, but I have also paid more valuable things for way less."

She smirked. "Then you should buy those instead. Information is gold in this economy. But I'm sure you already know that."

I mulled over the decision as I looked at her. I know 500 dollars would barely put a dent on my bank but maybe there's something else.

"There must be something that you need. Something more valuable than physical currency." I negotiated.

She looked like she gave the thought a once over. "Hmm.. I can't think of anything really." She looked me up and down. "Unless... you're the type of girl who's not opposed to the idea of breaking the law."

_Jackpot!_

"As it happens... I am a girl who's not unfamiliar with dirty work." I smirked.

"Well... there's something I needed taken care of..." She started. "But I'm sure you want to have the information you need first. So let's start with that."

"Very well." I answered. "Whatever it is, is probably not that different to what I do anyway." I definitely won't regret that statement.

"Okay. Well, this Venomfang..." she said as she pulled out a notebook from her jacket's pocket, and wrote on it. "He runs a laundromat on the other side of town, a front to hide his profits as a gangster. Here's the address." she said as she ripped off a note and handed it over. "This info, you'll definitely love, rumors say that under that building is where all the Basilisk gang's signature cruelty happens. Torture, murder, you name it. And he's there usually at midnight and leaves at 5 in the morning. What he does after that, no idea. Any attempts to follow him has ended in a goose chase. I stopped wasting resources for informants after the 3rd idiot lost him."

Interesting, a torture chamber hiding in plain sight. That definitely sounds like their modus operandi. I gave a nod, absorbing all she said.

"Now... about the payment." She said bringing up the matter.

"Right. You said you needed something taken care of, you didn't say what." I replied. Curious now about what she wants me to do.

"Well..." she nervously laughed as she pulled out... something from her other pocket. "I need you to deliver this for me."

I took a look at what she handed. An envelope. I twirled it around and saw writing on the back. "To Soojin ♥." it said in an elegant script. I looked up at her, and back at the envelope, then back at her.

"Are you serious?" I asked, incredulous.

"Do you think I'm joking?" she asked back.

"A love letter. You want ME. To deliver. A love letter?" I said, still not believing. Tzuyu and Chaeyoung would never let me live this down.

"Love is more valuable than any information or gold in the world." she looked away with a content sigh. Gone was the mischievous bartender from earlier, or the snitch who just told me about a gangster's illegal activities. In place was a girl who looked so... well... in love.

"Couldn't you just... I don't know, give her a call or something?" I tried to snap her from her daydream.

"Well yes of course."

"Then-"

"But it's not as special as a handwritten letter." She smiled at me. "Look, it's clear you have no idea what I'm talking about..." _Ouch_ "But trust me, if you'll ever have that special someone, they'll love you for making the effort to write something like that in this day and age."

I sighed. It's clear I'm never changing her mind. I wonder if I never took the offer to become an assassin, I would be doing and experiencing what this girl is experiencing now. Tending bars in a somewhat okay establishment if a little bit too lax on security, falling in love with someone, running a spy network... hmmm... maybe not that last part. That's not something normal young-adults do. Dipping even one piece of your soul into the crime underworld, and you'll get sucked in. I wonder just how safe this "bartender"'s job is.

Realising I have lost myself in thought long enough, I stood up and offered to shake her hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you." I told her.

"Likewise... just make sure to deliver the letter. And contact me if you've done so." She said and proceeded to walk out the door.

"I would if you left me a contact number." I remarked.

She turned to me and said, "Fortune will come to you, you only need to look for it." And with that, she walked out of the booth to the direction of the bar.

I shook my head in amusement at her antics as I picked up the fortune cookie from the tray. Sure enough inside was a piece of paper with her contact number, and a name. **Susan Y**. Maybe one day I'll get to use her spy network once again.

"Eagle to Overwatch." I spoke to my comms. "I have secured the information about the target, moving out now."

"Copy that, Eagle." Chaeyoung spoke back as I heard the low rumble of a car engine turning on. "We're moving to your position now."

"Copy."

_I remember..._

_A voice woke me up in the night... "Dahyunnie..."_

_I answered, half-awake. "Mom? Is that you?"_

_An object was handed to me. "People are coming. Keep it with... always... Dahyunnie... love yo..."_

_I remember..._

_I remember everything._

_I remember father's blood-curdling cries as his skin was peeled slowly off his body, alive._

_I remember my brother's pleas for the monsters to stop as they took turns clubbing him._

_I remember... mom's tear-filled cries for them to not touch me._

_I remember him._

_I remember his weight holding me down, he was about to..._

_I remember feeling the cold comfort I felt when I felt the knife in my hands_

_I remember the blood spattering my face as I, for the first time, hurt another human being..._

_But I remembered, this was a monster, and said monster cried out in pain_

_I remember..._

_I remember the gunshots ringing in my ear..._

_I remember the footsteps rapidly gaining on me._

_I remember them, the laughter, they were hunting me like some wild animal..._

_I remember the burning sensation on my legs, how long I have been running? ..._

I tinkered with my spider-bot as I made sure it's ready for tonight's main op. It's gonna be Chaeyoung and Tzuyu's eyes and ears watching me once I enter the hidden basement of this "laundry shop" run by Venomfang. While on it, I also changed to a form-fitting black turtleneck and leggings for unrestrained movement during my assignment. Securing a USP 45 pistol on my back and a switchblade near my ankles, I walked out of the small armory inside **_The School Bus_**. **_The Bus_** as we have dubbed it, isn't bright colored, nor is it actually a bus. It's a big camper van converted to our needs as assassins by us. With a lot of effort, mechanical and tech work, we managed to make a mobile HQ away from home so to speak. The part of the van I'm walking out of is a small armory, with guns and outfits and other stuff we need in missions that take place far away from our house. The other part of the van is a small area where we eat or just sit down for a bit. I am still as proud of it now as I was when we first finished the thing a year ago.

"ETA to destination: 5 minutes." Tzuyu called from the driver's seat as I sat down in front of Chaeyoung.

"You know the drill, bro. You're on your own and you need to keep the little spider on for us to have vision on you once we drop you off." says Chaeyoung as she munched on some strawberries. This kid and her obsession with that fruit.

"Yes, yes. I'll be fine, Chaeng. Don't worry about me." I answered.

"Shouldn't we though? You seemed pretty... I don't know, in deep thoughts a lot during the whole night. Something you wanna tell us?" she said as she leant forward, her eyes observing me.

I laughed it off and told her not to worry about it. "I'm just focusing on this op, Chaeng, you know me."

"I know. Just remember, no secrets between us." Chaeyoung nodded, leaning back to her seat. She grinned, "We didn't go through all that nightmare called training for nothing."

This time I can't help a real giggle. "Nightmare is an understatement." I sighed. "That place..."

"Look alive, we're here." our conversation got interrupted as Tzuyu called out.

"Looks like this is it. Good luck Eagle." Chaeyoung said as I stood up and walked out the door of **The Bus**.

"Catch you later, Tigress." I said farewell as **The Bus **left the alleyway they dropped me in. A few minutes walk from the laundry shop. The time is 12:45am, if the schedule "Susan" the bartender told me was correct, they'd be there now. Time to finish this.

There was no one inside the laundromat, it was silent... but if one would listen closely or one has enhanced hearing, they would hear the very faint echo of guttural screams coming from somewhere. A normal person would say auditory illusion, a superstitious one would say ghosts, and I would say those are the sounds of an ongoing torture session. I would know, I've been on the receiving end of one... long story. Finding nondescript walls in a shop like the one I'm staring at at the moment wouldn't be suspicious, if not for the fact that I know there's acts of torture being pertuated somewhere within or under this building. That means... if I could just find a switch, there! On an out of place painting on the right, the right of the frame has a hole for a lock. Not really the most difficult obstacle for an assassin who's used to breaking and entering without a trace, lockpicks are the most nifty inventions from the past. A lever switch, that's what's behind the painting as I unlocked it, I expected a keypad or a biometric scanner at best. You would expect a place where they do inhumane shit would have a more advanced method of security. I guess when you're one of the most feared syndicates in this crime-infested world, you'd have your streak of overconfidence too. An elevator dinged open as I pulled the lever switch. I pulled out my spider-bot to look for any hidden cameras and corrupt it... wouldn't want to announce my arrival to whoever is down there. Not yet.

***ding***

Sneaking around a hidden facility miles underground without a single information isn't the best thing to do. As soon as the elevator opened, I hid near a decent cover and pulled out the trusty spider-bot once again and controlled it to scout ahead. The spider-bot crawled through the ceiling as I mentally mapped out the place and noted how little security patrol there is. They're not overconfident, they're insane. But with what goes on in this place, I'm not really surprised. There's also a sort of prison cell area where I would guess they keep their victims before subjecting them to hours of torture. It's empty, that either means they have only one subject tonight or this is their last, either way time is of the essence. Eventually, the spider came across the main torture chamber, and its main event, a man strapped to a table slanted to face what looks to be the control room, a bunch of wirings are attached to various parts of his body. His lips are moving, presumably saying something, unfortunately my prototype bot doesn't have audio receptors. Really puts into perspective my priorities lie, doesn't it? Lethal shock charge and sleep darts, yes. But audio recording, none. After a while, as if the torturers sensed my thoughts, the man seemed to convulse as a few machines beside him seemed to power up. Shock torture, that's the dish for tonight I'm guessing as I spotted other torture machines scattered around the room. It looks like the man can't take anymore of this so I finally moved the spider away and towards the control room, where apparently, my target's observing the torture personally. Your time's running out **Mr. Lee.**

Getting in to take over their systems was a breeze as my spider silently plugged into one of their computers, from my phone no less. _Jeez, I really shouldn't be trusted with technology. I'll find your dirtiest of secrets in no time just by letting me hold your phone for a minute. _After making sure to broadcast last week's camera footage minus the control rooms in the monitor, I finally decided to move my ass and do work myself. Spider-bot has been doing a lot of heavy lifting tonight... speaking of, I silently maneuvered the thing to an optimal position to aim and fire a sleep dart at my target when the time is right. As I walked briskly throughout the halls of this facility, silently dispatching the very few patrol I come across, I realized how well made this torture house is. The clinically white walls and marble flooring makes you wonder how long a place like this was constructed. I wonder if this place already existed before... my family... crossed paths with these monsters. How did a place like this get built under the government's nose? Or maybe it wasn't built under their noses... My auto-pilot sneaking and knocking out thugs finally came to an end as I stood one corner away from the control room. I pulled out my phone to check on the spider-bot, the target was still there. I patiently waited and aimed at his neck, waiting for him to pause. As he stood still to talk to the prisoner in the chamber again, I took my shot and the sleeping dart sank on his neck. Like clockwork he swatted at his neck like a mosquito just bit him, that was my signal. I sprinted towards the doors of the control room, I opened it to the scene of the victim falling to the floor as his minions stood confused as to what just happened. There were a total of 8 members of the Basilisks in that room besides the target. And in that single second of confusion 4 dropped to the ground with a bullet to their head as I fired four shots with my pistol. The rest tried to reach for the guns that they idiotically left on the tables, but really, who's gonna be faster? Four low ranking minions of a syndicate who are about to grab their MP5s, or the lone assassin who already had her pistol aimed at them? My question was answered a second later by the consecutive thuds of thugs falling to the ground following my pistol's gunshots. _Beat that, Tzuyu!_ Actually I genuinely think she could beat that. My not-so-little, not-so-sister can be pretty scary when she needs to be. I still remember her convincing cries for help and confusion during that actor contract.

Carrying the knocked out body of the Venomfang, Lee Dong-sun himself brings out feelings of wanting to pull out a knife and slash at his face again now that I'm a grown woman and not a helpless, confused teenager. But I need him fresh for what I'm about to do, giving him a taste of his torture method. The torture chamber reeks of something, like a mixture of blood, sweat and tears... and maybe shit and piss too, it was terrible. It was also silent, only the low hums of machines and slow breathing can be heard. I looked up at the prisoner as I put down Venomfang, and despite my years of training, what I saw made me sigh a deep one. His mouth was parted slightly, drooling, and he was staring into nothingness and he showed no signs of cognisance when I waved my hands in front of his face. In the time I moved from the elevator to the control room, they have essentially rendered the man brain-dead. I looked at my target, peacefully sleeping via the dart the bot delivered and sneered. "This is the end that awaits you, Dong-sun." I spoke for the first time since entering this hellish facility. I stood up and released the brain-dead man from the table, removing all the wirings attached to his body. And after a few spoken words of farewell, pulled out my switchblade and slit his throat, giving him a far better fate than a perpetual state of brain inactivity. Can't say the same death awaits my target though. Despite our years of training, the majority of it was done to suppress our ability to feel, perhaps our emotions, one thing that the girls and I certainly never lost is our compassion. That and my drive to take my revenge on the son of a bitch in front of me. **Venomfang** has claimed his last victim, and while as an assassin this was a contract I have to complete, personally it was something more. A chance to bury my demons... well one of them anyway. Fulfill the vengeance I so rightfully deserve.

I strapped Mr. Lee to the bed and attached the various wirings to his body. The torturer is now the torture, how poetic. As I waited for him to wake, I explored the computer in the control room, I'm not about to stay in a place that reeks of death... and other disgusting shit. I can stomach it, but just because I can stomach something doesn't mean I choose to. Files and files of information were logged here, extracted I presume from the various 'test subjects' that they had. Dirt on other syndicate members, dirt on police officers, businessmen, public servants, and even government officials. No wonder they're pretty hard to touch when it comes to law enforcement, all people have skeletons in the closet and the Basilisks, through Venomfang's torture methods have found the X-Ray so to speak. And these are a lot of skeletons, juicy skeletons. A businessman dipping his toes into the criminal underworld. A sect of the church running a child porno... _sigh_. A secret service agent in a relationship with a crime boss' daughter. And so on. I'm sure Venomfang won't mind me "borrowing" these files... in fact he won't have a mind to mind me at the end of all this. I instinctively reached for my talon shaped necklace inside my shirt, a relic of my past. Made from melting the steel of the same knife that saved my life. It continues to make me feel safe and assured to this day.

"Ugh. what the fuck happened?" came the groggy voice from the speakers in the control room. I rushed to the torture to see my target, **Venomfang**, Lee Dong-sun awake and starting to come to his senses. "What the fuck?" he exclaimed as he noticed himself strapped to the same bed and attached with the same wirings as the prisoner he was 'interviewing' several minutes ago.

"So this is the famous Venomfang." I revealed my presence to him. He looked up at me in confusion. "I've heard of you of course, kind of hard not to, what with the drugs... the murder... the torture... the rape." I said with a slight emphasis on the 'p'. I stood a few feet from him and let him look at me.

"Who are you?" he asked, still struggling with the restraints. "What do you want?"

"Well that's hurtful. I would've thought you would have remembered me Mr. Lee." I gave him a mock pained look. "After all, I'm the one responsible for that HUGE diagonal scar on your face. I did hit pretty hard at age 12" I let that statement hang in the air for a few seconds letting a look of anger erase his look of recognition. "I heard a buuuunch of rumors about that scar you know? Ranging from a bullet grazing your face, a tiger scratching your face in a hunting accident, or an eagle scratching you with its talons. And all kinds of manly shit, probably perpetuated by yourself to hide the fact that it was a 12 year old girl with a knife that hit you." I smiled that condescending smile that even Tzuyu and Chaeyoung hated.

"You little cunt." was all the comeback I heard from the fool.

"What a fucking disappointing response. I have already heard that years ago... from you even." I said faking a yawn.

"When I get out of here I will finish what I started and fuck y-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH" Whatever the poor sod wanted to say, probably something rapey, was interrupted by the machine powering up and electrocuting him. That's right, with my spider sitting prettily at the console back in the control room I can remotely activate the shock controls from here.

"Such a simple contraption isn't it?" my mocking voice echoed through the chamber. "Just... deliver a set amount of voltage to the person's body." I shocked him again, and he screamed just as harshly as the faint screams I heard from the miles above. "Why are you screaming like that?" _SHOCK_ "It's not even a high voltage yet." _SHOCK _"we barely started" _SHOCK_. Now it's his screams that echoed on the chamber. I stopped to let him breathe.

"What? Are you gonna tell me the famous torturer has never been on the receiving end of torture himself?" I mocked as I shocked him again. "Fuck. I guess that's why you don't know how to torture anyone without them ending up dead." I shocked him again. "You don't even know what it feels like. Well now you do" I shocked him again. "How unfortunate that you had to learn it so late in your life." I. Shocked. Him. Again. Then I stopped. He's chasing his breaths.

"What. Do you fucking want?" He asked as he caught his breath.

"You know I never stopped to ask that myself. But why should I? I don't want the dirt you have on so many people, I stole them from you already. I don't even need a layout and location of your gang's hideouts cause I also already found those on your personal drive, so easy to decrypt by the way, yikes. I don't even want your keycard to your Boss' panic vault because I already have it." I said and with a flick of my wrist, I showed him his personal keycard on the palm of my hands. "The only thing I want to know is who in their right mind would have sex, let alone get married with you willingly. You have 2 kids too. Does your family even know what you do?"

He bristled at the mention of his family. "Stay the fuck away from my family or I swear to-"

"Blah blah blah" I interrupted whatever tirade that was about to become. "Swear to whom exactly? God? You, who have tortured people into insanity, raped people of all kinds to the point that they wanted to die, who have flayed the skins of men? I'm not usually one for preaching religious shit, but even repentance won't save you from the punishment that awaits you in Hell." I sneered as I upped the voltage of the electric shock device. And through gritted teeth. "And you get to experience the first level with me right now!" As I shocked him once again.

"Make it stop!" He screamed. "Make it stop! Please!" He can't take it. Unbelievable.

"I wonder how many people have asked you that same question?" I asked as I stopped the machine. "I would also like to respond in the way that you probably did." I pressed the button again, delivering volts and volts of electricity to his defenseless form. Then stopped.

"_gasp _Please... _gasp_ No more." He pleaded.

"I made a promise that night when you took my family away from me." I gritted my teeth in anger. "Don't worry about your family, I won't lay a hand on them. I'm a killer that much is true. I'm not better than you, but we're not the same either." I've made my peace, I think. I am fulfilling my long-time promise. I will never forget, but I can finally move on. I set the voltage to the right amount, the voltage that would certainly bring this fool to the same state he left the previous prisoner earlier. "Goodbye, Venomfang. Tonight you, tomorrow, we cut off the Basilisk's head."

"Destroying us won't change this country, idiot child. There will still be crime, whether we exist or not." He tried to spit on me, sadly he has mustered up all the energy in his words, that his spit just fell on the ground, away from me.

"I know. This isn't me cleaning up the streets. This is just me eliminating you." **_*CLICK*_**

**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!**

He screamed as hundreds and hundreds of volts passed through him. He screamed until his throat was hoarse. Until his lungs broke. He screamed for dear life. But I wasn't in any rush to stop it. I just stared. I watched one of my nightmares go through his own. I watched the death of my childhood die. I stopped the electrocution when he no longer screamed. With the same parted lips, and far away look in his eyes. This wasn't my usual clean kill, no, it wasn't even a kill. This isn't me as an assassin. This was just my revenge...


	5. Contract 4 - Into the Basilisk's Embrace

** _The next night, approx. 0100 hrs_ **

Three figures walked silently amidst the forested area, careful to watch out for any traps or patrol that may be waiting for them. Luckily, for about the 30 minutes that they were on the move, they have not encountered anyone patrolling. One thing that they have noticed though was that wild animals were rare to see, especially predators. A sign that whoever has occupied the area may have chased off some of the wildlife. The three figures wore dark colored masks under the hooded jackets they wore. Each carried a backpack, and wielded the same guns, from the suppressed H&K MP5's they were holding, to the M1911 pistols strapped to their hips, even the combat knife strapped to their legs, upon their dark leggings. This was intentional, meant to confuse enemies, a tactic adapted from the old shinobi of Japan. Of course with this trio, you can tell by the disparity between each of their heights. Even with that, the tactic still works as oft times in a fight, adrenaline and panic often overrides a goon or thug's logical thinking. The myth that a ninja could "multiply" him/herself came from such a tactic after all. These three individuals are known to their peers and classmates as Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. But tonight, they were just Eagle, Tigress, and Dragon, a trio of assassins on their way to the hideout of one of the most dangerous gangs in the country: the Basilisks.

"Hideout. More like a fortress, look at this shit." muttered Dahyun as she sent a hand signal to stop approximately 500 meters away from the hideout. And the other two saw she was somewhat right. The compound seemed to be heavily guarded with a 20 ft wall and four watchtowers, one on each corner, presumably guarded as well.

"Aren't you glad our clients are sending over their men now, Eags?" Chaeyoung piped up from where she's sitting down. Tzuyu let out an uncharacteristic snort.

"Yes, I'm glad they sent cannon fodder- I mean their men to cause a massive distraction so we don't have to worry about that." Dahyun replied as she picked up a small stone and sniped Chaeyoung's head with it. "And don't call me Eags ever again. It's either Eagle or nothing."

"Yes boss." Chaeyoung rolled her eyes, and whispered "eags" under her breath, only for another stone to find its way on her head. "Aww"

"We're on comms, I can hear you loud and clear, tigey." Dahyun teased back.

"Don't call me tigey." Chaeyoung whined.

"Then don't call me eags." replied Dahyun.

"Fine." Chaeyoung harrumphed.

"Good." Dahyun nodded.

"Very well." said Chaeyoung.

"Whatever." said Dahyun.

"You guys want some bread?" Tzuyu cut in.

"You brought bread?" Dahyun asked her.

"Yea. What did you think was in my backpack?" Tzuyu countered.

"Grappling hook, ammunition, extra smoke and or stun grenades. I certainly didn't expect bread." answered Dahyun.

"Well yeah, there's those but I also had extra space so I thought about bread." replied Tzuyu, already munching on some bread.

"Ugh you and your bread obsession." sighed the eldest of the three.

"Can I have some?" asked Chaeyoung, already standing crouching next to Tzuyu.

"Uh-uh What's the magic word?" Tzuyu decided to tease her.

"Baaaabe." Chaeyoung pouted.

"Ugh. Wrong word, but fine take this just so you'll stop calling me that." said Tzuyu, cringing.

"Thanks Dragon." Chaeyoung said as she ate it. "And what's wrong with me calling you babe huh?"

"Nothing, just don't." was all the reply she got.

"Oof shot down before the ship even sailed." Dahyun grinned at her.

Chaeyoung pouted. "Shut up, Eags" this time catching the stone that Dahyun swiftly threw at her. "What the- I didn't even see you pick it up?".

Dahyun smirked. "Assassin. Always ready."

"Whatever." Chaeyoung went back to eating her piece of the bread.

"As fun as this is, our distraction will be arriving any minute now so be ready." Dahyun warned them. Ever the unofficial leader of the trio, getting them back on track.

"Any minute now" turned out to be 10 minutes later as RPGs started slamming into the front gates of the compound. Jeeps were heard rolling into the area, and the goons from the collective gangs started firing on anything that remotely resembled a human on top of the walls. 

"Look alive girls." Dahyun alerted the other two. "Fireworks have begun."

Tzuyu observed the scene as she stood up. "Full frontal assault. Bold strat from them."

"I mean, they paid good money for assassins to cut off the head. They're making sure the Basilisk gang is fully ground into fine dust." Chaeyoung piped up. "Get it? Fine dust? Cocaine?"

"Yes yes, they're a drug cartel. We get it. Let's move out." Dahyun barked into the comms.

"We can appreciate your terrible jokes later, chingu." Tzuyu patted Chaeyoung's shoulder.

"Is it pick-on-Chaeyoung day today? Feels like it." said Chaeyoung as she followed the two forward.

Explosions and gunfire rang throughout the compound. A mixture of screams from dying goons, orders being shouted and footsteps were prevalent. The cacophony of sounds, and visual destruction was the perfect concealment the three assassins needed. No one heard their already light footsteps as they ran through the grass into the wall boundaries. No one heard the sound of three grappling hooks attaching to the top of the compound's concrete walls. No one saw three hooded figures scale up the high walls and over them. One unfortunate soul did spot them when they reached the top, that unfortunate soul is no longer breathing, finding his swift end from Tzuyu's combat knife lodged in his skull.

At a brisk pace, following blueprints of the compound found in Venomfang's files, the three moved to the control building. Dodging goons, not taking unnecessary fights as they went along.

"Flashbangs ready." Tzuyu called out as Dahyun prepared to open the door to the control building.

"On 3! 1! 2! 3!" Chaeyoung counted. "Safeties off"

As the flashbangs were thrown and went off, the three barged in and laid waste to the unprepared people coordinating the defense of the compound. About five people had the presence of mind to draw their guns during all of it, but their blind firing only benefited the three assassins more as their stray fire hit their allies instead.

"Area clear." communicated Tzuyu as the short-lived firefighting died down. Dahyun immediately walked over to the main console and observed the cameras along with Chaeyoung.

"There he is, the head of the Basilisk himself." Chaeyoung pointed to one of the monitors, the image of a man surrounded by a contingent of goons walking at a brisk pace towards somewhere.

"Looks like Yang Dae-Jung is about to go into his hidey-hole down under." said Dahyun, rapidly stealing files from the main computer.

"Nice. Save people time from burying him when he's dead. He's already 6 feet or more under." Tzuyu piped up from where she was standing.

"Alright, I've copied all files of interest and tapped into their communications channel. It looks like they plan on blowing this joint up if the fighting lasts more than they expect." Dahyun informed the team.

"Let's go kill the S.O.B. before all that happens then." Tzuyu replied.

"Wait. Did the intel mention anything about his family?" Chaeyoung cut in.

"No. But I did my own research on his family. Why?" Dahyun asked her.

"Do those people match your research?" Chaeyoung pointed out a monitor to the right, its camera observing a room with an older woman and girls of varying age, the hallway outside showing two groups of people in a close quarters gunfight. Dahyun gritted her teeth.

"Shit. What kind of monster leaves his family... nevermind. According to the blueprint, that's not far from where we are. Bastards must've snuck through while the fighting was going on outside. Fancy a little detour, girls?" Dahyun asked and the other two gave a silent affirmative. "Let's move. Double time."

The three moved with the grace of trained assassins, moving quickly but not making too much noise. Chaeyoung controlled the spider-drone as it moved at the same pace further ahead of them, Dahyun observed the feed from the compound's multitude of cameras from time to time, and Tzuyu was in charge of covering their backs, making sure no one gets the jump on them. One would compare the team to a well-oiled machine as they moved towards the room. The hallway was no longer wrought with gunfire by the time they got there, nothing but the smell of gunpowder and blood in the air. The team slowed down as they stepped over the dead bodies scattered on it. One poor guard was at the still brink of death, he looked up from where he lay, coughing in pain as he saw three hooded figures walking towards him. Surely these are Death's Reapers coming to end his misery? The last thing he saw was one of them kneeling down upon him and slitting his throat. Chaeyoung stood up after ending the guard's suffering, and listened closely on the door.

"Muffled sounds, struggling, I hear crying from many voices." she reported.

"I'd hate to waste our clients' men, but if they are doing what I think they're doing, don't hesitate to shoot to kill." Dahyun murmured.

"Flashbangs?" Chaeyoung asked her.

"No time." Dahyun answered. "Tzuyu?"

"Move aside." Tzuyu said as she cracked her knuckles and moved back a few paces.

No communication was needed after that as Tzuyu ran full sprint towards the door and body slammed it open. It took a second, to observe one of the goons holding a girl against himself, the rest pointing their guns at the rest of the occupants in one corner of the room, one second for Tzuyu to aim her gun and started firing on the goons within the room, Dahyun and Chaeyoung followed suit the moment they entered. The goons, caught unawares, didn't have the chance to fire back as they were summarily executed in front of the civilians they were holding hostage moments ago. Some girls got splattered with blood, some were just crying but the matron, Yang's wife stood ground, silently assessing the three strangers who have just saved them from certain death and humiliation.

"Room clear." Tzuyu called out, reloading her gun with a new magazine. Chaeyoung moved to help up the one girl who was being held by one of the goons, but she recoiled in fear.

"Hey. It's okay. The bad men won't hurt you anymore." Chaeyoung spoke in the most soothing voice she could manage.

Mrs. Yang instead moved forward and picked the girl up and moved her towards the rest.

"No time, guys. Let's move." Dahyun reminded them.

"Hold on, Eagle." Chaeyoung stalled. "... Mrs. Yang, can I call you that?"

"Call me Sola." Mrs. Yang answered.

"Well Sola-ssi, do you have a way out of here? The firefight outside is still pretty heated, and we can't stay here to protect you." inquired Chaeyoung. Before Sola could answer though, a girl in a maid's uniform stepped forward, she looked towards the matron as if asking for permission, at Sola's nod, she spoke.

"I... I know a way out, the path is pretty hidden from the surveillance cameras and I-I may have used it to sneak out into the forest from time to time." the maid blushed and bowed her head.

"Okay, well that's that. Can you keep them safe though just in case?" Chaeyoung asked her, picking up one of the guns on the floor and handing it to the girl.

"Y-yeah. Before I... worked here, I was trained to shoot guns and handle CQC fights." the girl answered, once again avoiding the matron's eyes.

"Looks like there's more to you than my husband has realised, Lexa. Though that's just what I expect from him." Sola spat. "Though it's a shame I haven't noticed it either, or we would have been out of this mess from the get go." This time she looked at Chaeyoung and looked her up and down as she had the other two from the beginning. "You're here to kill HIM aren't you?"

"Yes." was all Chaeyoung answered.

"My son is with him..." the woman informed her.

"And your son is innocent and must be spared?" Chaeyoung asked, she's heard this one before. Or so she thought.

"No. He's a monster and he deserves to be put down." Sola bluntly put. "Granted, he hasn't always been that way, it's just that that monster of a man has groomed him into the perfect heir of the Basilisk clan." she sighed at this. "Kill him if you must. But don't make him suffer, I beg of you."

Chaeyoung was taken aback by this, she just gave a silent nod as an affirmative. "You should get moving, there's no telling who'll come through looking for stragglers any moment."

With those parting words, she moved to join Dahyun and Tzuyu waiting for her in the doorway. As one, they moved again towards the underground vault the target had holed himself in.

"I've taken the liberty of sending the spider through the vents with _the package_." Dahyun informed Chaeyoung.

"Good the tear gas ought to distract them as we enter the vault." replied Chaeyoung.

As they moved, Dahyun made sure to blind any cameras in areas they're about to pass through, resetting them once they passed. The blueprints didn't mention any sort of surveillance setup in Yang's panic vault, but that could have been for security reasons. The way to the vault was a maze, as expected. But using the blueprint they followed the path to the vault, keeping alert of any potential ambushes from the shadows. As they were about to pass through a four-way intersection hallway though, Chaeyoung called for a halt.

"What is it, Tigress?" Tzuyu asked her.

"It's one of THOSE kind feelings. Like I'm about to be in a world of pain if I continue?" Chaeyoung shrugged.

"Good call, though. I don't trust those hallways either." replied Tzuyu.

"Flashbangs." said Dahyun as she pulled out two and gave one to Chaeyoung. "I'll do right, you throw left in 3." At Chaeyoung's nod, she counted. "One, two, three."

As the flash grenades landed and detonated, Chaeyoung's feeling was proven right as panic gunfire opened from the right hallway. As the firing died down, presumably to reload their guns, the three assassins prepared to fight back, Tzuyu stopped Dahyun and Chaeyoung.

"The fighting up top has been going on for a while now, it must be dying down. We have no time. You two go on, I'll handle these idiots." she said before running straight into the right hallway, where 8 men were trying and failing to reload their guns, still recovering from the disorientation caused by the flash grenade. More's the pity as an assassin is running full sprint towards them. Dahyun and Chaeyoung just shrugged and continued off while Tzuyu dished out punishment on the goons.

The first scream as the first man fell to Dragon's knife served as a signal to the others that something was wrong. The suppressed pistol gunshot and thud of a second body falling signalled that SOMETHING WAS VERY WRONG. One had the mind to throw a punch in the shot's direction, too late though as Tzuyu ducked and drove her knife straight into his throat. One fell on his ass on the ground and moved way backwards away from the carnage, all the while trying to reload his MP5 and seeing this hooded figure absolutely tearing through his colleagues one by one. One of the men was coherent enough to pull out a knife and try to stab him, her, whatever this incarnation of death was in their minds. Said stab was unsuccessful as the hooded figure caught his hand with a stab of the figure's own knife, he screamed, but was immediately silenced as Dragon shot him once in the chest and once more on the neck. Two others, aside from the man on the ground, were left. One tried to tackle Tzuyu, but she dodged to the side and drove her knife to the back of his neck. The other tried to go the smart route and ran away, but he got just a few feet away before a bullet from the Dragon's pistol found its way to the back of his skull. By that time, the one man a few feet away has shrugged off his disorientation and has managed to reload his gun. The hysteria of watching one's colleagues fall one by one was apparently too much as the man started laughing maniacally as he fired his MP5 with reckless abandon at the hooded stranger. The laugh immediately died down in his throat as the hooded figure dodged to the right, and started running on the walls for a short period of time. Tzuyu, sensing that her wall-run is about to lose its momentum, pushed the left and threw her knife towards the man. **Hurgk!** Any sound of surprise or terror the man was about to let out was cut off as the knife found its way to his throat. He fell, and as he lay there, the last thing he saw was the suppressor of an M1911 pistol, coherent enough to read the word engraved on it: "**용**". Tzuyu, not wasting anymore time, fired her pistol and ended his misery.

Meanwhile, as Tzuyu was systematically taking care of the goons who decided to ambush them, Dahyun and Chaeyoung came upon a wide empty hallway and the panic vault's doors at the end.

"An empty hallway with the goal in sight. Totally not suspicious at all." quipped Chaeyoung.

"Lasers." Dahyun guessed.

"Totally lasers." agreed Chaeyoung.

"If I had to guess, opening the vault doors would disable the lasers." said Dahyun. "What do you think happens if we trip one of these?"

"I honestly don't want to find out." Chaeyoung said as she lightly rolled a smoke grenade into the middle of the hall. Like a charm, the smoke rose up and revealed the laser, all pointing horizontally. "Fucking boring. Granted they are all in different heights, but still really?"

"Speak for yourself. I, for one, am happy I am not about to contort myself in six hundred different ways to pass through a laser field for once." Dahyun said as she put down her guns, and backpack. She also removed her hooded jacket, leaving only her mask, tight shirt, leggings and her hair in a tight bun. The keycard she had acquired from the previous target, Yang's lieutenant, Lee Dong-sun, was safely tucked under her face mask. She bumped Chaeyoung's offered fist, and took a deep breath.

With practiced ease, Dahyun bent and stepped through the first row of lasers, immediately bending her upper body and passed through the second. As it was a substandard set of lasers, Dahyun soon found her rhythm, snaking through the laser field, less like an Eagle and more like a viper hunting its prey. Midway through, Chaeyoung cringed as she watched Dahyun's bun come undone. Thankfully, she caught the tie and hair before it touched any of the lasers. After carefully tying her hair back, she continued. No mishaps happened after that, and she reached the end of the hallway and in front of the vault. On Chaeyoung's end, she heard the light footsteps coming towards her from behind.

"Just in time, Dragon." she waved to Tzuyu as she got there.

"Lasers?" Tzuyu asked her.

"Lasers." Chaeyoung affirmed. They looked towards Dahyun who had her thumb up, ready to scan the keycard on the vault keypad. That was all the signal Chaeyoung needed as she pulled up the phone controlling the spider drone.

As the drone dropped the tear gas out of the ventilation shaft and into the vault, Dahyun scanned the security card upon the keypad. One by one, the lasers within the hallway turned off. A loud hiss came from the vault doors as it slowly eased open, giving way to the sound of people coughing from within. Chaeyoung gave Dahyun her equipment and belongings back as they prepared to go in.

"Safety's off. This is an execution." Dahyun said as she raised her MP5.

Slowly the tear gas faded off, and with the men inside still coughing they entered and opened fire on the occupants. It was over just as quickly as it started, the men didn't have a chance, with 30 bullets in each of their magazines, it was enough to finish off everyone and they still had a few bullets each to spare in case they encountered stragglers on the way out. Each of their thoughts differed as they fired upon the target and his cronies within the vault. Chaeyoung was counting the bullets she was firing despite its fast firing rate. Dahyun was careful to spot any person who may have had a chance to fight back and fired upon that person instead. Tzuyu just wants this to be over and have a nice long rest. Eventually only the three were left standing within the vault, the target Yang Dae-Jung lay dead on a sofa in front of a T.V. set.

"Make sure no one's left alive." said Dahyun, and Chaeyoung and Tzuyu followed. Dahyun searched for any indication of a potential bomb for the compound and found a detonator on Dae-Jung's corpse, under his sleeves, she disarmed any wirings in it, disabling the detonator. Now the bomb... or bombs will just have to be found. But the three unanimously agreed to leave that to their clients. They were paid to kill the target, and that job has been accomplished.

The three snuck out of the compound as fast and silent as they can. The fighting is close to dying down, with the attacking force rooting out any stragglers in the compound. They scaled up the wall and down again with their grappling hooks, and walked away back towards their **Bus** hidden ways away from here. As they covered quite a bit of distance, a scream reached their ears...

"Did that scream sound familiar to you?" Tzuyu asked her two friends.

"Sounds like one of the girls we helped get away." Chaeyoung said what they were all thinking.

Dahyun sighed and moved towards the immediate direction of the scream. "Form up. Looks like our night still isn't over, girls."


	6. Contract 5 - Dull and Boring

One might think the life of an assassin is all action and no rest for the wicked. Live a normal life at day, slip your turtleneck on and slit some throats at night, or vice versa. But the truth is, it's incredibly dull and boring. At least that's how it felt to Dahyun as she sat down at the sofa, scrolling through social media sites, and trending news. _Seoul police insist there's no drug prob... Sugar costs at an all time hi... Actor dies from prop malfunc... Three corpses found in the riv... Soloist Chungha releases new single..._

Dahyun put down her phone and got ready to take a bath. It's been three days since their last contract, and so far, no contract came from their handler. In fact no communication was done between the team and their agency since completion of the Basilisk contract. Dahyun sighed as the hot water hit her back and steam permeated within the shower room. She can't help but draw a smile upon the glass. There was a time when looking at foggy glass would suddenly take her back to the past, to the freezing claustrophobic cooler they would put her and other trainees in as punishment for failures, she would feel the memory of the cold freezer on her skin despite the shower putting out immense heat. But that was long gone, now she has the time to let down her hair a lot. Sometimes, dull and boring is a good thing. She has more time to think about mundane shit. Like what to eat today, or if there are any assigned homeworks last night that she forgot to do. That and what improvements she could make on their various equipment. Like maybe a coin that can be thrown at a person and tases them, but that goes against their "no evidence left behind" rule, well more like a guideline really, you can't always be perfect and not leave behind something, you just have to make sure that something can't be traced back to you. Yet one can't just leave things like that behind, tech that could be copied or studied. She's quite stingy about people getting their hands on her property.

Her two housemates have just finished getting ready as well when she got out of her room. She looked at their outfits and had to bite back her comment of how similar clothing is only required when they're doing joint contracts. Dahyun herself was wearing a large white tee with its front tucked under her black skinny jeans, complementing the outfit with white sneakers. It would seem the other two had a similar idea today though Tzuyu was wearing a pink pastel shirt while Chaeyoung was going all black. If the other two gave an outward indication that they noticed the motif, Dahyun didn't see anything. Tzuyu has already slipped into her blank facade, while Chaeyoung still seemed somewhat sleepy. "Been staying up all night again, Chaeng?" she asked her. "Not my fault. Sleep hates me or something." the other girl whined. It still amazes Dahyun how this whining girl is the same one who can drown a person in toilet water or slit their throat without batting an eye. Then again, even she and Tzuyu aren't immune to a little whining from time to time. "You know, we could just drive a car to school. It's not like we're lacking any of those in our garage." Tzuyu suggested as they started their walk to school. "Tired of walking to school, Tzuyu?" challenged Dahyun. Tzuyu rolled her eyes, "Nah. Just a suggestion, seeing how catgirl over here is always sleepy." Dahyun grinned, "Well as long as Chaeyoung is the assigned driver, I'll have no problem with that." Tzuyu let her facade slip for a second and snorted. Chaeyoung, being in the middle, elbowed the two, "Alright. You've filled your quota of _Chaeyoung-not-a-morning-person_ jokes for the week, both of you.". "Heh. In all seriousness though, we're gonna draw unwanted attention to ourselves if we started driving to school when we've been walking to school the whole year." Dahyun reminded them. "But if we ever just decide to not care about unwanted attention..." she let the statement hang in the air. "The school would probably collectively drop their jaws upon seeing Chaeyoung on a motorcycle and a leather jacket." said Tzuyu. "Flattery won't get you a pass to make more morning person jokes at my expense." this time, it was Chaeyoung rolling her eyes, but playful. "Damn, guess I'll move on to height jokes now." Tzuyu deadpanned, receiving a light slap on the arm from both the smaller girls. Dahyun smiled, yeah, dull and boring is alright.

Classes were a part of the daily dull and boring routine Dahyun goes through everyday. Much as she doesn't like elevating herself above others, she can at least admit that she's way ahead... like if she went and did the accelerated program, she'd be graduating in a year. But that's not really why they're in school anyway. They've already learned academics and practical things in training already, she still remembers the punishments for not being up to standards when it came to that. No, they were at school to blend in and socialize with people their age. And to Dahyun, a chance to be normal in a society she feels like she doesn't belong in because of what she is now. So despite the fact that she already knows everything the professors are about to teach, she sits through all the lectures anyway. Plus it's a nice way to maintain her observation skills by people watching or listening. Classes are a nice way to just sit back and let her eyes wander. Their Literary Criticism professor for example, she noticed, dislikes the word "moist". She has noticed by the slight twitch of his left eye when the word comes up in textbooks. Though Dahyun is more amazed how much the word "moist" pops up in class more than anything. She has also noticed how Park Jiwon keeps bobbing her head subtly during math class. And instead of just straight up asking like a normal person, Dahyun took a month of studying the beat of her head bobbing and the occasional phrases she was lip syncing that she's singing Beyonce's "End of Time" in her head. Dahyun just chucked it up to having too much time to spare. Really, almost a year as a working assassin and only about 10% of it was actually spent on doing kill contracts.

Lunchtime was spent together as usual. Dahyun sat down and waited for Chaeyoung and Tzuyu to turn up from their own classes. As she waited on the 6-seated table though, a certain someone sat down in front of her. "Sana-ssi." Dahyun greeted politely. "Where's Tzuyu?" was the blunt reply she got from her. Minatozaki Sana wore a leather jacket over a simple black shirt and jeans and boots. Dahyun wondered if the theme for today was wearing the simplest shirt and jeans but putting your own flair on it. Dahyun just shrugged and replied, "She isn't here yet, though I'm guessing they'll be here soon, my classes just ended early." Sana gave a puzzled look. "You're ahead of them?" "By a year, Sana-ssi." Dahyun answered. "Huh. You learn new things everyday, I guess." Sana stated dismissively. Awkward silences... Dahyun's not good with awkward silences, and yet here's one now. Silences like these pressure her into making stupid small talk. "Why Tzuyu?" Dahyun blurted out suddenly. And it would seem Sana wasn't expecting that as all she could reply was a puzzled "What?". Dahyun blinked... and stared... and wondered why basic social interaction wasn't part of assassin training. "Uhh... nothing. Nevermind." she answered. But it seemed Sana was intrigued. "No, no. There was a clear line of thought that went into that question. What did you mean by that?", the girl pressed. "No, trust me. There was no line of thought at all that went into that.", Dahyun evaded. Sana smirked, "That's the thing. I DON'T trust you. So..." she leaned forward. "... tell me what you meant by _Why Tzuyu?_". _This girl is persistent, I'll give her that, _thought Dahyun. Sana was still leant forward, seemingly waiting for her response. Dahyun pretended to answer and hesitate, really just stalling for time. For Tzuyu to just come through or even the other unnies and save her from this awkward conversation. Her relief arrived in the form of the competitive dance team. "Sana, have lunch with me. Don't waste your time with the dweeb." Seolhyun, the team leader, called out. This caused Dahyun to actually look around the cafeteria, and saw that they have gained the attention of most of the students there. _I wanna roll my eyes so bad. _Dahyun thought. But opportunities are opportunities, so she just rolled with it, and smiled at Sana. "Yeah, Sana-ssi. Stop wasting time on the dweeb." she said in a low voice that only Sana could hear. "Not today, Seol. Maybe tomorrow?" Sana answered, the dance team captain, but not taking her eyes off Dahyun. Smirking. "Eh. Okay. I see you have a veeeery serious conversation going on.", Seolhyun replied and walked away. This time Dahyun actually couldn't help but roll her eyes, but less in contempt, but more... disbelief? Annoyance? She prayed to heaven and back for God Tzuyu to deliver her from this conversation. _You haaaad to open your mouth, Dahyun, _she reprimanded herself. And as if answering her prayers, Superman's Theme played in her head as the woman of the hour arrived to save the day. Never before has Dahyun been so happy to see Tzuyu in a while. "Oh look, there's Tzuyu." she said quickly. Sana narrowed her eyes at her before looking towards the cafeteria entrance as well. She turned back her attention to Dahyun and stood up, "This isn't over." Dahyun decided to let her have the final word and leaned back to her seat.

Dahyun watched from her table as Sana walked towards Tzuyu, who was chatting with Chaeyoung. Dahyun almost laughed at seeing Chaeyoung physically stopping herself from rolling her eyes as she saw who was walking towards them. Amusement or annoyance, Dahyun couldn't tell, but it was clear Chaeyoung noticed Sana first before Tzuyu did. When she did though, she immediately shut up from whatever anecdote she was telling Chaeyoung. Dahyun was curious as to what Sana was telling the girl, but not curious enough to approach the scene. Though, reading from Tzuyu's short responses as she just nods or says okay, it's probably nothing life changing, and just the usual things Sana makes her do. Her assumption was proven right when Sana reached from her wallet, handed Tzuyu some cash and then walked away. It puzzled Dahyun though as instead of getting to her own table, Sana walked back to hers and sat down in front of her, saying nothing. Tzuyu palmed her face lightly before walking towards where Dahyun was too, followed by Chaeyoung. _More awkward silence_, thought Dahyun. _I hope I don't ask sudden questions this time. _Fortunately, Tzuyu chose to break the silence, "I'm gonna go order now." she said as she stood awkwardly, looking between her friends and the addition to their table. "I'll stay. Can you get me the usual, Chaeyoung?" said Dahyun as she handed her her lunch money. "Okay." Chaeyoung simply replied and walked away with Tzuyu. _Why the fuck did I stay here? Politeness? _thought Dahyun. _I could've just bought Chaeyoung her lunch so she'd instead be the one dealing with this. I bet she could at least chat up Sana with small talk. _Deciding that her small talk skills were a bit too awkward, Dahyun decided to pull out her phone much like Sana did and just checked her social media while waiting for her lunch. "These seats are not taken I suppose?" Dahyun looked up to see who was asking. It was two of her seniors, Im Nayeon and Park Jihyo holding their lunch in their hands. Nayeon was currently pointing at the two seats beside Sana. "No, Nayeon-ssi. Those seats are vacant." Dahyun graciously answered. Jihyo nodded in thanks and sat down. Nayeon shook her head in Dahyun's direction. "Now now, Dahyun-ah. What did I say about speaking to us, especially me, too formally?" she asked in a disapproving tone. Dahyun felt slightly chastised, "But Nayeon-ssi..." she started but stopped herself when she heard a 'tsk' from Nayeon. She sighed, "You said to just call you Nayeon unnie." she said, giving an apologetic smile. Nayeon smiled approvingly and said "Better. That courtesy extends to Jihyo as well..." Jihyo nodded in kind, "... and I guess Sana too?..." but Sana cut in with a quick "Nope" "... okay... guess you still have to formally address Sana, Dahyun-ah." Nayeon finished, smiling. "It's okay Nayeon-unnie." Dahyun replied.

It was at that point Tzuyu and Chaeyoung arrived with the lunch trays. Tzuyu put down Sana's in front of her and then moved to sit down in front of Nayeon. Placing herself the furthest from Sana as possible. _Make it not so obvious next time, Tzu. _Dahyun thought to herself. As Chaeyoung placed Dahyun's lunch in front of her, they shared a look. Dahyun moved to the seat on her left, placing herself in front of Jihyo, so Chaeyoung could sit to her right. After a short silence, they all gave thanks in varying volumes, Sana's surprisingly being the lowest, and started eating. No words were uttered, just an odd group of people, eating together. Surprisingly it was Sana who broke the silence, "How's the council, Jihyo?" she asked. "Going well, I suppose. We're currently preparing for the upcoming sports fest." Jihyo answered, and followed up with, "which you would know if you attended the council meetings, Sana-ya." Sana just shrugged in response. "You're on the council?" it was Chaeyoung who asked. Dahyun just snickered, "Yah Chaeyoung-ah, first you didn't know Mina was on the council, and now Sana too?" she teased "... I meant to say Sana-ssi." she quickly corrected, before putting her head down and continued eating her beef kimbap. She felt Chaeyoung nudge her leg. . "Anyway... Sorry I'm not really up to speed in school affairs, Sana-ssi, Jihyo unnie... hehehe" said Chaeyoung, running up a hand on the back of her head. "Well you have that in common with Miss College representative over here." Jihyo said, nodding in Sana's direction, "She's the representative for Psychology..." but she was interrupted by a "Yeah yeah, that's enough, Jihyo." from Sana. "I barely said anything." Jihyo complained. "Well you've said enough, don't bore the kids with responsibility talk.", Sana waved her hand dismissively. "I don't talk about responsibility that often!", replied Jihyo. "Yes, and I am the Queen of England.", Sana rolled her eyes. Jihyo's hands waved wildly in the air, "I... you... Oh... I

I see you were trying to rile me up. Good one." "Didn't need to try to be honest." rebutted Sana, and continued eating her food. Dahyun, along with Chaeyoung who were caught in the crossfire of their bickering, just sat there in a mix of confusion and amusement. _Well they seem to be good friends, _Dahyun thought to herself, _how though? they're both popular I suppose. But Jihyo's more on the caring side... and Sana is... well kind of? a pain in the neck? _Though now thinking about it, Dahyun doesn't seem to remember seeing Sana treat people the way she does Tzuyu. I suppose she still treats everyone with this cold, dismissive aura around her, but she doesn't order anyone else around like she does with Tzuyu. I mean how can she trust Tzuyu not to poison her or something. _Though Tzuyu's not that petty I suppose_, thought Dahyun, _I doubt anything Sana says would push her to that. Gets under her skin maybe, but never "use my knowledge of murder" on you level. More like mild annoyance that sometimes gets her to blow up. And even then, Tzuyu is still not super harsh or brash with her choice of words. _Speaking of Tzuyu, the poor girl is currently being assailed by Nayeon's... Nayeonism... Nayeonity? "You want some potatoes, Tzuyu?" "It's okay, unnie." "Tzuyu, have some veggies." "oh... uh... alright, unnie." "You want some black noodles?" "are you not eating it?" "I'm willing to share." The back and forth was amusing to Dahyun, but obviously cringing to Tzuyu as indicative of the glances she would give Chaeyoung and Dahyun, who just nodded their heads in sympathy. "Alright, say aah", Nayeon said as she gathered noodles on her fork. Tzuyu was startled, "I-I have a fork unnie I can just..." But Nayeon wasn't having it, "Nah. Be a good kid and say aah" she ordered Tzuyu as she raised the fork to mouth level. Tzuyu looked to her friends, who just gave her sympathetic smile, and accepted her fate with a gracious sigh. "Awww you're so cute, Tzuyu-ah." Nayeon said as Tzuyu accepted the noodles. Topping it off with a pinch on her cheeks. It was an amusing sight to Dahyun, knowing that this girl, her friend and housemate who could take on a whole squad of armed people, couldn't get it in her heart to resist Nayeon's authority. But also she was thankful she wasn't the one at the receiving end of Nayeon's coddling... for now. During the exchange she stole glances at Sana who was also observing with silence. Sana's reactions were interesting. Dahyun never thought she would witness confusion, suspicion, jealousy and a myriad of other emotions on someone's face, but Sana did just that. The girl eventually took her eyes off the spectacle and went back to her phone. _Amazing. _Sana, and her treatment of Tzuyu, was quite the conundrum to Dahyun. And to her, it was a conundrum she's willing to solve. _Hmm maybe school isn't so dull and boring after all?_

The night was young, Dahyun, Tzuyu, and Chaeyoung had just arrived home when they collectively received a message from the higher ups. To meet at their handler's office. Deciding to take the Sedan, this time it was Chaeyoung who drove them to the office, a good 30 minute drive from their house. "What do you think this is about?", Chaeyoung asked no one in particular. "A contract, I hope. It's been a boring past few days.", Tzuyu answered. "It wasn't so bad", Dahyun cut in, "Plus if it were a contract, they wouldn't bother calling us there." Tzuyu hummed, conceding to the reasoning. "Well maybe it's one of those _very confidential must be disclosed face to face_ sort of contracts.", Chaeyoung countered. "Fair point.", Dahyun conceded, "Guess we'll never know til we get there." Lights passed them by as the trio drove towards The Handler's office. The city was teeming with life even at night time, as expected of it being the capital. Night time Seoul was beautiful, littered with its bright lights and different colors as far as the eye can see. It was mesmerizing. To the uninitiated, you'd think it was as pristine and colorful as it appears to be. But to one like Dahyun, the lights and colors were a facade to hide the city's dark and seedy underbelly. Establishments were either owned by overly rich businessmen or the mafia posing as overly rich businessmen. But as the days go by, the distinction becomes blurry until there's no visible difference at all. Dahyun wonders just how much of the "legit corporations" were actually founded on blood money alone. It seemed to her like anyone in this city would do anything, even spill blood to get what they want. And that's where she, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu and other assassins come in. For when you want to kill someone but you have neither the weapon nor guts to pull it off. She's glad there's actually a minimum price on putting a kill contract on someone, otherwise just about anyone would be hiring assassins. Chaeyoung once joked with her that if they did, a 9-to-5 office worker could just about hire someone to murder their boss for any small reason. Dahyun's cynical musings about the city and its crime underworld however, were brought to a halt by the car slowing down, they're here. The Handler's office is actually an old apartment building, with one reception area and two guards guarding the door and the receptionist, an older, middle-aged woman named "Lucy" according to the plaque on her table. The guards eyed them with cold scrutiny as they passed. "Tigress, Dragon, and Eagle. Here to see Handler 000106." Chaeyoung told the receptionist. _Lucy_ typed in the computer, and after looking between them and back, said "That seems to be in order. And Handler 000106's office is open for you right now." With a bow exchanged between the four of them, the trio walked to the elevator, and Tzuyu pressed for floor 13. With a hiss, the elevator started moving down. Every single time she has been here, Dahyun never failed to wonder how old the "Primal Collective", the agency they work for, actually is. With how many of its current facilities are actually operating literally underground, it wouldn't surprise her if it existed even before World War II, hell, maybe even WWI. Despite this though, the facility is still somehow kept in pristine condition. Never once in her career as an assassin did the elevator show any signs of degradation. Neither did the hallways they're walking on now, she has never seen it overly dirty. Its bricks and walls looked old of course, an evidence of its apparent antiquity, but it's just that: old. Dahyun didn't see much dirt build-up or cobwebs along the ceiling or floor either. Eventually they reached Door #000106 at the end of the long hallway. She knocked three times and waited. "Come in." a man's youthful voice called out from the other side. Dahyun opened the door into the office and noticed two figures, a man and a woman standing there waiting for them. Both of them were familiar to her. The man stood taller than anyone else in the room currently, including Tzuyu. He wore a sleek black business suit, and on his face, a mask, in the shape of a black hound. This was the current Anubis, one of the positions of leadership in the Collective. The Anubis and his subordinates were in charge of recruiting and evaluating individuals who can be of use to the agency. As for the woman... "This is Susan, the new 000106, codename: **Snow**." Anubis introduced her to the trio. "**Snow**" bowed to the group and said, "Hi! I look forward to working with every single one of you." Looking at Dahyun pointedly when she said the last word. The three bowed back in unison. "What happened to Amber?" Tzuyu asked the question in everyone's mind. "She has decided to take a permanent leave" said Anubis, "familial matters, if I remember correctly. Hence the need for a new handler for you three. We found this talented one in the vicinity and she seemed a good candidate. Of course, only time will tell if that is so." He continued further, "Well now that you all are acquainted, I will take my leave. I must say, you three are performing far better than expected. Perhaps the old Doctor was wrong." With that parting comment, Anubis walked out of the room, leaving the four in it. Dahyun was quite salty at those last words. She still remembers listening in to Dr. Yujeong and Anubis' conversation at the training facility almost a year ago. He called the three of them _failures_ because they weren't up to his standards of what the perfect assassin should be. But the time to dwell on such matters was not now, as **Snow** or Susan decided to start a conversation. "Small world, huh?" she said to Dahyun directly. "It is, isn't it?" Dahyun replied in kind. "You know each other?" asked Chaeyoung. "We've met." Susan answered before Dahyun did. "Imagine being me, a lowly girl with a small spy network, working as a bartender in the seedy area of Seoul. Then this girl in a hoodie walks in, tells me the code word and then proceeds to ask about one of the most dangerous men in the city. Quite the interesting encounter, I must say." She smiled as she sat down on her chair. "And I'm guessing since you're standing here, alive and well, that Venomfang has no more venom?" she asked. Dahyun smiled and hummed in the affirmative. "Cool." Susan answered. "How rude of us," Dahyun heard Tzuyu say to her right. "We never introduced our codenames", she side-eyed her and Chaeyoung. "I am known as Dragon, to my left is Eagle, and to her left is Tigress." they all bowed codenames were introduced respectively. "Interesting," Susan hummed. "I am guessing the codenames are tied to your personalities or specializations?" she asked no one in particular. "Yes." Tzuyu answered, "Eagle is for her sharp eyesight, Tigress for her stalking and sneaking..." "... and Dragon for her fiery temper." Chaeyoung cut in with a giggle. Dahyun snorted and could see amusement in Susan's eyes as well. Tzuyu just stared blankly at her friends.

Snow smiled at the trio of assassins in front of her. She could see the history and between the three but also noticed the dangerous aura that surrounds them. **Maybe** this new life will be exciting for her after all. "Do we have any contracts in waiting?" the small girl, Tigress asked her. "Nope. Not for now. I think I'll call any of you when one becomes available." she answered. "Okay, Miss Snow." Tigress replied. "Oh please, cut the _miss_ out when you're addressing me." she sighed, "I'm pretty sure I'm younger than any of you." Eagle snorted in disbelief, so she gave the girl a sharp look. "Right... if there's nothing else, I think we should go now. Welcome to the Collective, Snow." said Dragon, bowing again followed by the other two. Snow stood up and bowed back. As they left, the tall one, Dragon, looked back and stared at her slightly. Snow stood still and stared back, before Dragon ended it and closed the door behind her. Snow sat down heavily on her chair and ran a hand across her dark hair, still staring at the door, lost in thought. She never noticed a small tear roll down her cheek.

_After all these years, I have finally found you... 子瑜... _


End file.
